About Oregon AHEC

Photos of our regions

Who we are

The Oregon Area Health Education Center was developed in 1990 to recruit, train and retain health care professionals committed to underserved populations.  Oregon AHEC is a network made up of five regional centers that cover the entire state with a central program office housed at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

We design educational programming to inspire Oregon’s youth to pursue health care careers in rural and underserved settings, support them in becoming health care professionals and provide continuing education once they are established. Our regional centers provide hub and spoke extension services statewide. 
 

Oregon AHEC's mission is to improve the health of individuals in rural and underserved areas through education and workforce development.

Our goals

  1. Diversity: Preparing a diverse, culturally competent primary care workforce that can address the needs of the communities we serve.
  2. Distribution: Improving health care workforce distribution throughout the state, particularly among rural and underserved areas and populations.
  3. Practice Transformation: Developing and maintaining a health care workforce prepared to deliver high high-quality in a transforming delivery system, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities.

Our origin story

The Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program was developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. An AHEC is a network of regional centers that are coordinated through a central program office. More than 300 AHEC programs are operating in nearly every state.

The Oregon AHEC story began in 1988 with two physicians from Enterprise, Drs. Lowell Euhus and Scott Siebe, and their grassroots effort to address the crisis in rural health care. Their vision led to legislation to support Oregon’s rural health care providers, and to strengthen the partnership between OHSU and rural and underserved communities. Dr. Julian (Dutch) Reinschmidt, one of Oregon’s original thought leaders for continuing medical education and rural health care, became the founding Director of the Oregon AHEC Program. He helped secure federal funding in 1990. Over three decades later, the Oregon AHEC system has grown to include five regional Centers that serve the entire state.

Oregon AHEC Director

Dr. Eric Wiser, M.D.
Eric Wiser, M.D.
Director, Oregon AHEC
Assistant Dean, Rural Undergraduate Medical Education
Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine
OHSU School of Medicine

Regional Center Directors

Shellene Dougherty
Shellene Dougherty
Executive Director, Oregon Pacific AHEC
Chad Johnson
Chad Johnson
Director, Oregon Healthcare Workforce Institute
Meredith Lair
Meredith Lair
Executive Director, Northeast Oregon AHEC
Stephanie Leapaldt
Stephanie Leapaldt
Director, Cascades East AHEC
Christin Rutledge
Christin Rutledge
Executive Director, AHEC of Southwest Oregon