North Cental Wisconsin Ahec Inc

TO ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY IN OUR RURAL AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES THAT AIM TO INCREASE THE DIVERSITY, DISTRIBUTION, AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE.

AHEC SCHOLARSAHEC SCHOLARS IS A TWO-YEAR PROGRAM FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS STUDENTS INTERESTED IN SUPPLEMENTING THEIR EDUCATION BY GAINING ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IN RURAL AND/OR UNDERSERVED SETTINGS. CORE TOPICS INCLUDE INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTEGRATION, SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, CULTURAL COMPETENCY, PRACTICE TRANSFORMATION, AND CURRENT AND EMERGING HEALTH ISSUES. THE PROGRAM REQUIRES 40 HOURS OF DIDACTIC TRAINING EACH YEAR AND A MINIMUM OF 40 HOURS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PER YEAR. THE AHEC SCHOLARS PROGRAM AIMS TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS WITH THE GOAL OF PREPARING THEM TO PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY CARE IN RURAL AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. THIS YEAR, NORTHCENTRAL AHEC SUPPORTED A TOTAL OF 58 AHEC SCHOLARS WHO WERE CURRENTLY ACTIVE IN THE PROGRAM. IN ADDITION, NORTH CENTRAL AHEC TRACKED AND SUPPORTED 10 STUDENTS WHO WERE ONE-YEAR POST GRADUATION FROM THE AHEC SCHOLARS PROGRAM.

COMMUNITY-BASED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (CBEL)NORTH CENTRAL AHEC SUPPORTSCOMMUNITY-BASED EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING IN RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREAS THROUGH FIELD EXPERIENCES, PROJECTS, AND CLINICAL ROTATIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE HEALTH PROFESSIONS STUDENTS. EXPERIENCES ARE TEAM-BASED AND INCLUDE A FORMAL, DIDACTIC COMPONENT ADDRESSING ONE OR MORE OF THE 6 CORE TOPIC AREAS (INTER-PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTEGRATION, SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, CULTURAL COMPETENCY, PRACTICE TRANSFORMATION AND CURRENT AND EMERGING HEALTH ISSUES).EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY-BASED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAMS OFFERED AT NORTH CENTRAL AHEC INCLUDE: WISCONSIN EXPRESS ( WEEK-LONG STUDENT IMMERSION PROGRAMS FOCUSING ON AMISH/MENNONITE POPULATION AND AGING AND VETERAN POPULATIONS), COMMUNITY HEALTH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (8-WEEK STUDENT INTERNSHIP AT LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICE AGENCIES), INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTHCARE CASE COMPETITION, AND COMMUNITY HEALTH ENGAGEMENT PROJECTS IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY-BASED SETTINGS FOR 3RD YEAR UW-MADISON MEDICAL STUDENTS. SEVERAL ADJUSTMENTS TO PROGRAMS WERE MADE THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF COVID-19. MANY OF THE CLINICAL ROTATIONS AND PROJECTS WERE POSTPONED, CANCELLED, OR MOVED ONLINE. THE TWO WISCONSIN EXPRESS PROGRAMS WERE COMBINED INTO ONE VIRTUAL PROGRAM, AND AS A RESULT THE CENTER WAS ABLE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO COULD PARTICIPATE. THE INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTHCARE CASE COMPETITION WAS ALSO MOVED TO A VIRTUAL FORMAT. OVERALL NCAHEC WAS SUCCESSFULLY ABLE TO PIVOT PROGRAMS AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO CONTINUE TO OFFER QUALITY COMMUNITY BASED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

PIPELINE ACTIVITIESPIPELINE ACTIVITIES INVOLVE THE RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, INTERACTIVE AND/OR DIDACTIC ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS (GRADES 9-12) WHICH FOCUS ON EXPOSING YOUTH TO HEALTH CAREERS, INCLUDING PUBLIC HEALTH. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES CENTER AROUND EXPLORING THE MULTITUDE OF HEALTH CAREERS AVAILABLE. NORTH CENTRAL AHEC OFFERS A DAY-CAMP EXPERIENCE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM AND A FUTURE PHYSICIAN'S DAY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MEDICAL COLLEGE WISCONSIN- CENTRAL WI CAMPUS. THIS YEAR PROGRAMS WERE SHIFTED TO A VIRTUAL FORMAT DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. NORTH CENTRAL AHEC IS REQUIRED TO SPEND 10% OR LESS OF FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING ON PIPELINE ACTIVITIES.

COVID-TELEHEALTH SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING - NORTH CENTRAL AHEC RECEIVED SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FROM HRSA TO SUPPORT ACTIVITIES TO ADVANCE COVID-19 RELATED TELEHEALTH IN RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREAS THROUGHOUT THE 11-COUNTY NORTH CENTRAL AHEC REGION (CHIPPEWA, CLARK, DUNN, EAU CLAIRE, MARATHON, PEPIN, PIERCE, PORTAGE, TAYLOR, WAUPACA, AND WOOD). TELEHEALTH IS DEFINED AS THE USE OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION AND TELECOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT LONG-DISTANCE CLINICAL HEALTH CARE, PATIENT AND PROFESSIONAL HEALTH-RELATED EDUCATION, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDE VIDEO CONFERENCING, THE INTERNET, STORE-AND-FORWARD IMAGING, STREAMING MEDIA, AND TERRESTRIAL AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS. THREE DIFFERENT PROJECTS WERE FUNDED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ACADEMIC AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.