The Ohio State Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program, administered through seven regional medical schools, seeks to improve the availability of health care professionals and improve access to quality health care in Ohio, especially for underserved populations. The mission is accomplished through:

• academic and community collaboration that emphasizes primary care and focuses on underserved areas
• continuing education in health professions across the state
• education in health promotion and disease prevention within the community
• introducing young people to careers in healt

The Center for Healthy Communities serves as the Area Health Education Center for Region IV in Ohio. Region IV serves Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble and Shelby counties. The Region IV Program Director is Katherine Cauley, Ph.D., director of the Center for Healthy Communities. 

The Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and the Center for Healthy Communities engage in programming that promotes the Ohio AHEC mission.

The Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in the School of Medicine seeks to assist in the development and implementation of educational programs through which students of the health professions (e.g., medicine, nursing, and allied health) are exposed to clinical training experiences in underserved urban and rural areas. Health professions students work in multiple community-based clinical settings, including neighborhood health centers, free clinics, and senior services centers providing direct primary care services. Students provide primary care services to more than 10,000 people annually through these centers. More…

Continuing Education
for Health Professionals

The Center for Healthy Communities periodically presents community education opportunities for health professionals in the Greater Dayton area, both in day-long conferences and shorter seminars and workshops. Recognizing that health professionals work in partnership across many disciplines, CHC strives to present interdisciplinary perspectives of important healthcare topics in its community education programs and offer continuing education credit to physicians (CME), nurses, psychologists, counselors, and social workers.

Please click on the name to go to the AHEC region website.

Region I
The University of Toledo, Medical College of Ohio

Region II
Case Western Reserve University

Region III
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Region IV
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

Region Va
The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health

Region Vb
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Region VI
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Please click here for contact information for Ohio Statewide AHEC programs.

For over a decade, the Ohio Statewide AHEC Program has collaborated with the Ohio Department of Health to support community education on women's health issues. Through the Women’s Health Month initiative, the Ohio Department of Health offered limited funding through Ohio AHECs for events during the month of September that addressed women's health issues.  In 2008, Women’s Health Week (May 11-17) will replace Women’s Health Month and the Ohio AHECs will continue to award small grants to non-profit organizations to host community events or professional training on important women’s health issues, particularly those that encourage healthy choices among young women.