Alaska AHEC Program
2012Alaska AHEC ProgramAnnual ReportStrengthening Alaska's health workforceThe Alaska AHEC Program is a statewide university-industrypartnership focused on strengthening Alaska’s health workforce.www.uaa.alaska.edu/acrh-ahec
About the Alaska Area Health Education CentersMission & OrganizationAlaska AHECs and their Host OrganizationsThe federal Area Health Education Centers (AHEC)Program is funded by the Health Resources andServices Administration, Bureau of HealthProfessions. The Program dates back to 1971,though the Alaska AHEC began at the University ofAlaska Anchorage (UAA) in 2005. It was the first inthe country to be awarded to a School of Nursing,rather than a School of Medicine.1) Yukon Kuskokwim AHEC – hosted by YukonKuskokwim Health CorporationAHECs are academic and community-basedpartnerships engaged in primary care workforceengagement, training, and recruiting and retainingactivities to improve the distribution, diversity,supply, and quality of healthcare personnel. TheAlaska AHEC Program Office (at UAA) contractswith five regional Centers to implement educationalactivities involving several health professions and toexpose students to primary care delivery in a ruraland/or an underserved setting. In addition, AHECswork closely with state and local workforceinvestment boards to identify and addresshealthcare personnel issues.2) Interior Alaska AHEC – hosted by Fairbanks MemorialHospital3) South Central AHEC – hosted by Providence Healthand Services Alaska4) Southeast Alaska AHEC – hosted by Southeast AlaskaRegional Health Consortium until February 2012; nowhosted by Peacehealth Ketchikan Medical Center5) Northwest AHEC – hosted by Ilisagvik CollegeAlaska AHEC Steering CommitteeThe Alaska AHEC Steering Committee’s role is to adviseprogram activities and advocate for sustainability. Eachmember plays a vital role in ensuring the Alaska AHECremains a viable, statewide resource and meets theneeds of our diverse healthcare industry.Program AreasThe Alaska AHEC addresses its mission by workingin four activity areas:1) Engage Alaskans into health careers to evolvethe future health workforce;2) Coordinate required clinical rotations to trainhealth professions students in rural communitiesand with underserved populations to ultimatelyrecruit providers to these areas;3) Increase access to and provide CE/CMEopportunities statewide to retain Alaska’s healthworkforce; and4) Conduct applied health workforce research toaccurately identify existing workforce needs inthe healthcare industry, especially in rural areas.Host OrganizationsThe Alaska AHEC Program Office is located at theUniversity of Alaska Anchorage under the School ofNursing and the Office of Health ProgramsDevelopment. The Program Office partners with fiveindustry hosts to carry out the AHEC mission. EachCenter serves a distinct geographic area withunique needs and available resources. Hostorganizations provide invaluable support to theAHECs that ultimately improve the health status ofits people.1Alaska AHEC Program Annual Report 2012 Suzanne Allen, MD, MPH, Assistant Dean for RegionalAffairs and Rural Health, UW School of Medicine Kathleen Barrows, Director of Mission Services, ProvidenceHealth and Services Alaska Barbara Berner, EdD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP, Director,School of Nursing, University of Alaska Anchorage Patricia Carr, MPH, Director Alaska State Office of RuralHealth, State of Alaska, Division of Public Health Paula Easley, Member, Board of Trustees, Alaska MentalHealth Trust Authority Gena Edmiston, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, FairbanksMemorial Hospital Jan Harris, MSHA, FACHE, Vice Provost of HealthPrograms Development, University of Alaska Anchorage Lanetta Lundberg, PHR, Vice President of Culture andPeople, Peacehealth Ketchikan Medical Center Birgit Meany, Dean of Instruction, Ilisagvik College Nancy Merriman, MPH, MBA, Chair, Executive Director,Alaska Primary Care Association Tom Nighswander, MD, MPH, Assistant Dean, AlaskaWWAMI Regional Affairs, UW School of Medicine Karen Perdue, President and Chief Executive Officer, AlaskaHospital and Nursing Home Association Julie Serstad, MSN, Deputy Director of Community Health,Department of Health and Social Services, North SlopeBorough Dan Winkelman, JD, Vice President of Administration andGeneral Counsel, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation Elizabeth Woodyard, MEd, MSN, Vice-Chair, ChiefExecutive Officer, Petersburg Medical Center
Letter from the DirectorGreetings,I am pleased to provide you with the 2011-2012 AlaskaAHEC Annual Report. While this report focuses onnumbers of students impacted by AHEC activities andtheir effect on Alaska’s health workforce, our goals wereachieved through an astounding number of hours andtireless effort from the program office and regional staffswho are the heart and soul of the AHEC. This reporthighlights our activities and demonstrates theimportance of having a thriving and operational AHECprogram in Alaska.Unless otherwise stated, program activities data is fromJuly 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012, the reporting perioddefined by the national AHEC program.It has been an eventful year for the Alaska Area HealthEducation Center (AHEC) Program. Though ourprogram sustained a significant budget cut(approximately 43%), the regional centers and programoffice continue to meet the modified goals they set. Theydemonstrate that the Alaska AHEC is not only aJackie Pflaum, Co-Director Jackie is Associate Vice Provost ofthe Office of Health Programs. Sheprovides oversight and leadershipof the Alaska AHEC Program, aswell as oversight to the UAA Schoolof Nursing’s RRANN and NursingWorkforce Diversity programs.(907) 786-4574jspflaum@uaa.alaska.eduKaty Branch, Co-Director Katy oversees the daily operationsof the Alaska AHEC, conductsstrategic planning, is liaison to hostorganizations and Center Directors,and is responsible for advocacyand partnerships in state, regional,and national settings.(907) 786-6705kebranch@uaa.alaska.eduJanice Troyer, AHEC ProgramManager - Janice coordinatesAHEC student rotations withCenters, oversees the AHECPipeline Cache database, andmanages the Health Careers inAlaska and Clearinghouse forClinical Rotations websites.(907) 786-6592jktroyer@uaa.alaska.eduworthwhile investment for developing and strengtheningAlaska’s health workforce, it is a smart strategy for anindustry expected to increase jobs by 12% in 2020(Alaska Economic Trends, DOL, October 2012).The Southeast AHEC transitioned from longtime hostorganization, Southeast Regional Health Consortium, toWrangell Medical Center in partnership with theSoutheast Hospital Network. Eventually, the AHECmoved to Peacehealth Ketchikan Medical Center inSeptember. Though the journey's been long, theSoutheast region overwhelmingly supported maintainingthe Center, and its regional involvement is greater nowthan ever before.I would like to dedicate this report to AHEC staff andSteering Committee members. Your perseverance andcommitment to our mission is the reason we have comesuch a long way recently. Thank you for your dedication,passion, and energy.-Katy Branch, Co-DirectorAlaska AHEC StaffLaura McCrillis, FiscalTechnician - Laura manages theAlaska AHEC’s fiscalresponsibilities, including subawards with Centers, contracts,purchase orders, and travel.(907) 786-6579lfmccrillis@uaa.alaska.eduPatricia Sammartino,Education Network Manager Pat oversees CE and professionaldevelopment, and supportssustainable integration of clinicalsimulation across Alaska. Shemanages Alaska CACHE and RuralVeterans Health Access Project.(907) 786-6589plsammartino@uaa.alaska.eduAlaska AHEC Program Annual Report 20122
Alaska AHECCentersNorthwest AHECNorthwesAHECHosted at Ilisagvik CollegeAmanda Sialofi, Directorwww.nwahecak.orgYukon Kuskokwim AHECYukon Kuskokwim AHECHosted at Yukon Kuskokwim Health CorporationLaurinda O’Brien, er3Alaska AHEC Program Annual Report 2012
stInterior AHECInterior AHECHosted at Fairbanks Memorial HospitalLillian Ruedrich, Directorwww.interiorahec.comSouth CentralAHECSouth Central AHECHosted at Providence Health andServices AlaskaElizabeth Imbo-Walsh, Directorwww.scahecak.orgSoutheastAHECSoutheast AHECNow hosted by Peacehealth KetchikanMedical CenterCarlen Williams, Directorwww.seakahec.orgAlaska AHEC Program Annual Report 20124
Health Careers Promotion and PreparationThe Alaska AHEC engages Alaskans of all ages into a wide variety of health careers through HealthCareers Promotion and Preparation (HCPP) activities. Activities in this area include: Providing job shadows ranging from 1 to 40 hoursso students can observe a specific occupation firsthand Coordinating intensive health programs, such as theAllied Health Camps in Barrow Guiding schools and school districts to incorporatehealth career information into daily instructionthrough the Health Program of Study and TeacherIndustry Externship (TIE) programs“Working in rural Alaska over the last fourmonths was an invaluable experience I willnever forget. Working with this population isone thing, but living with them and havingthe opportunity to embrace their communityand culture is a whole new world. It was anamazing encounter that will forever beengraved in my mind.”-Riley Bennett (PA student)Alaska AHEC Goal Areas Leading statewide Health Occupations Students ofAmerica (HOSA) chaptersHealth OccupationStudents of America(HOSA) is a nationalstudent organizationendorsed by the USDepartment of Education.HOSA’s two-fold mission isto promote careeropportunities in thehealthcare industry and toenhance the delivery ofquality healthcare to allpeople. The Statewide CoAdvisory for HOSA is theSenior Education*Tours, Pre-med Summits, Presentations, In-a-box ActivitiesCoordinator at the SouthCentral AHEC, Jan Abbott. The Alaska programcontinues to expand – there were 201 participants in2010 and 266 in 2011. Alaska HOSA has chapters inFairbanks, Ketchikan, Chugiak, Anchorage, Kodiak,and Wasilla.The Rural Health Program of Study (PoS) is led byInterior AHEC to implement health career curriculumwithin rural high schools and is funded by the AlaskaDepartment of Labor. In this reporting year, projectstaff developed a rural-focused Implementation Guidedetailing recommended steps for school districts tobegin offering a Health PoS. The project successfullyinitiated a Health PoS in Galena, as well as in Tok.Currently, the Introduction to Health Careers isavailable for college credit through the Tech PrepProgram with the University of Alaska Fairbanks; creditalignment will be sought for additional courses, as well.In year 2, the project expands the Galena and Tok programs to include an additional course, andextends to three additional communities: Nenana, Delta Junction and Fort Yukon.5Alaska AHEC Program Annual Report 2012
Clinical RotationsClinical rotations are typically "required"clinical experiences that health professionsstudents must complete in order tosuccessfully finish the program. They serveas both an intensive educational experience,where students get hands-on training andmentoring from a health professional in theirselected field, and an effective, low-costrecruitment strategy, where health facilitiescan observe the student at work anddetermine whether employment upongraduation is a good fit.-Erin Lester, MDAlaska AHEC Goal AreasAHEC strives to facilitate rotations at rural andunderserved sites to expose students to caredelivery in these settings where hard-to-fillvacancies persist. A wide variety of disciplinesare sponsored from nursing assistants tomedical students. Alaska AHECstrives to target priority professionsas identified by the AlaskaWorkforce Investment Board and inaccordance with the Alaska HealthWorkforce Plan.“As a first-year medical student in the Alaska WWAMIProgram, I had the opportunity to spend one month inKodiak, Alaska working with a general practitioner.Ifell in love with the sense of community that is sounique in rural Alaska. I focused the remainder of mymedical education toward additional exposure to ruralmedicine and eventually chose to pursue the field offamily medicine. The Alaska Family MedicineResidency was a natural choice, offering a perfectblend of urban pathology, collaboration alongside ourstate’s subspecialists, and a higher volume ofvaluable rural experience than any other familymedicine residency program in the country. Now as aresident in my third and final year, I am lookingforward to practicing medicine within one of thespecial rural communities in our great state.”*These include all UAA nursing underserved rotationsAlaska AHEC Program Annual Report 20126
Continuing EducationThe Alaska AHEC Program supports workforce retention by coordinating and distributing informationabout continuing education and professional development (CE/PD) opportunities to healthcare workers.Activities in this goal area include:Alaska AHEC Goal Areas Managing the Alaska CACHE: Clearinghouse forAlaska’s Continuing Health Education. Training health providers to better care for Alaska’sVeterans as a part of the Rural Veterans HealthAccess Project – this project continues throughAugust 2013. Creating new CE/PD opportunities, such as theClinical Coaching curriculum described on page 8. Supporting various professional associations andorganizations to provide CE/PD in Alaska.7As the AHEC shifts its focus from quantity to quality ofactivities, we have begun collecting data on thefollowing measures: How many contact hours are applied towardslicensure/certification retention. How many providers planned to implement a changein their practice as a result of thetraining. How many participants increased theirknowledge as a result of the training inwhich they participated.AHEC began to collect this data in the2011-2012 reporting year and received 670completed surveys. The table shows theresults for these measures and will serveas the baseline for the future.Alaska AHEC Program Annual Report 2012
Alaska AHEC Goal AreasThe Alaska CACHE: A Clearinghouse for Alaska’s Continuing Health Education(www.akcache.org) is a web-based system that increases access to ongoing CE/PD for staff working inrural health facilities. It acts as a clearinghouse for CE/PD information and provides a single-accesspoint for healthcare workers and employers. The Alaska CACHE was built on the backbone of the TrustTraining Cooperative's Learning Management System (TTC/LMS), making it designed specifically forAlaska's health industry. Both the Alaska CACHE and TTC/LMS work cooperatively and serve distinctaudiences. The system allows users to: search for current CE/CME events by profession, topic, or host;manage and track completed CE/CME; receive new training notifications; post upcoming events; trackattendance and registration; and download reports.Clinical Coaching is a distance-based course designed to train and nurture more rural preceptors/clinical coaches across disciplines. The 16-hour course has nine modules and is distance delivered. Itwas designed in consultation with the Alaska Coalition of Educators and the Vermont Nurses inPartnership. The course will be open and available in the spring of 2013. Interested professionals canfind registration information on the Alaska CACHE and the Alaska AHEC website.The Geriatric Education Series is a distance-delivered training series offered by the NorthwestGeriatric Education Center and coordinated by the AHEC Program Office. The 10 week series isdesigned for providers serving an elderly population and covers topics such as dementia, suicide, andspecific physical health considerations. The course is delivered from January – March. In 2012, theAHEC averaged 65 participants per week at 17 sites across the state. This course is offered annuallyand registration information can be found on the Alaska CACHE.Alaska AHEC Program Annual Report 20128
The Impact of AHEC in AlaskaUltimately, the Alaska AHEC strives to build, strengthen, and diversify the healthcare workforce, especially in ruraland underserved areas. Therefore, a successful AHEC program will guide Alaskans interested in a health careerthrough pipeline programs to training and education and, eventually, to employment in Alaska’s health industry.To gauge this impact, the AHEC conducts an annual long-term student tracking project in partnership with the AlaskaDepartment of Labor to determine whether participants are working in Alaska’s health workforce and, ideally, wherethey are employed. Below are the results of the 2012 assessment, which included 2,814 clinical rotationsparticipants. These numbers indicate an overall increase in graduates and an increase in AHEC participants workingin rural Alaska. Literature suggests typically between 8-12% of students enrolled in health programs will select arural environment for practice. Alaska is ahead of the curve.1) 1433 (51%) students have earned degrees. This is a 10%increase over 2011 (902 out of 2210). Many remaining studentsare assumed to be working towards degrees. Degrees were in thefollowing areas: 80% in a health related field 9% in a science related field 5% were either unknown or a non-science field2) 688 were Alaska residents (according to 2010-2011 PermanentFund Dividend data): 4550 (22%) were employed in the 3rd Quarter of 2011 91% were in jobs categorized as “healthcare” or “socialassistance.” Of these, at least 16.5% worked in rural areas in Alaska.*(Note: DOL data does not differentiate those working in facilities with multiplesites, some in rural areas, so this percentage may be higher. Also, data does notdifferentiate those working with underserved populations in urban areas.)9Alaska AHEC Program Annual Report 2012
The AHEC Program Office manages several applied health workforce research projects on an annual orbiennial basis. These studies are conducted in partnership with Alaska’s health industry and add to the rich data setnecessary to ensure adequate potential health workers are in the pipeline and that a strong workforce exists. Beloware brief descriptions of current research projects.Alaska Health Workforce Vacancy StudyThe Alaska Center for Rural Health, Alaska’s AHEC (ACRH/AHEC) has conducted several health workforce vacancystudies over the past decade, each growing in size and scope of work. In partnership with the Alaska Mental HealthTrust Authority, UAA’s Office of Health Programs Development, UAA’s School of Nursing, UAA’s Allied HealthSciences, the State Office of Rural Health, the Alaska Primary Care Association, and the Alaska Native Tribal HealthConsortium, ACRH-AHEC began work on the 2012 Alaska Health Workforce Vacancy Study.Utilizing the Alaska Standardized Health Occupations Taxonomy (AK SHOT) developed by the Alaska AHEC and theAlaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Research and Analysis section, the 2012 studyevaluates 157 occupations and will crosswalk the datato the federal Standardized Occupations Classificationcodes to evaluate trends by occupation category. Thisnew methodology will create a trended data set in thefuture that will serve workforce planning efforts well.Specifically, the study asks the following questions bylabor market region: Number of currently filled positions by occupation Number of current vacancies by occupation Number of temporary positions by occupation that anemployer would prefer having a regular employee fill Number of positions requiring additional experiencebeyond the typical education/training requirements Top reasons for recruitment and retention challengesThe final report is expected to be released in spring2013.Community APGAR QuestionnaireThe Alaska AHEC is entering Year 2 of a dynamic, crossstate rural family physician recruitment and retention studycalled the Community APGAR Questionnaire (CAQ).Partners in this effort include the State Office of RuralHealth, UAA’s WWAMI Medical Program, the Alaska FamilyPractice Residency, and the Alaska State Hospital andNursing Home Association. The study was originallydesigned by Boise State University and is currently activein Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Maine. The CAQexamines 50 variables linked to physician recruitment andretention from a broad community perspective and deliverstargeted data back to healthcare facilities. This year, 11critical access and small rural hospitals participated in thestudy. They received a facility-specific report back and theoption for targeted technical assistance to boost their recruitment and welcome programs. In Year 2, these sites willbe reassessed to see if any of the implemented changes have impacted their recruitment efforts.10Alaska AHEC Program Annual Report 2012
Alaska Center for Rural HealthArea Health Education CenterUniversity of Alaska Anchorage3211 Providence Drive-DPL 401Anchorage, AK 99508-4614Non-ProfitOrganizationUS PostagePAIDPermit No 107Anchorage, AKAlaska CACHEwww.akcache.orgAlaska AHEC manages the Alaska CACHE, A Clearinghousefor Alaska’s Continuing Health Education. This web resourceconnects all health professionals, associations, and facilitiesto CE/CME opportunities in our state – a great benefit to ourtime-challenged rural and urban healthcare providers alike.Alaska AHEC Clearinghouse for Clinical RotationsAlaska Health Careers Resourceswww.alaskaahec-rotations.orgThe Alaska Clearinghouse for Clinical Rotations providesinformation for students looking for clinical rotationplacements in Alaska. The website includes information aboutour regional AHEC centers, frequently asked questions,general cultural and Alaska information, and a infoAlaska AHEC maintains the Alaska Health Careers inAlaska website, which includes over 50 career descriptions;profiles of Alaska health professionals; career explorationideas; a listing of health/science camps and internships;links to Alaska academic health programs, health curricula,and websites for educators; and much more.Alaska Center for Rural HealthArea Health Education CenterUniversity of Alaska Anchorage3211 Providence Drive-DPL 401Anchorage, AK 99508-4614Phone: 907-786-6579Fax: 907-786-6573www.uaa.alaska.edu/acrh-ahec
1) Yukon Kuskokwim AHEC – hosted by Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation 2) Interior Alaska AHEC – hosted by Fairbanks Memorial Hospital 3) South Central AHEC – hosted by Providence Health and Services Alaska 4) Southeast Alaska AHEC – hosted by Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium until February 2012; now
Director, Alaska's AHEC 907-786-6705 gburnett3@alaska.edu Northwest AHEC Hosted at Ilisagvik College Amanda Sialofi, Director Lauren Kelly becomes the new director in fall 2016. lauren.kelly@ilisagvik.edu Interior AHEC Hosted at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Lillian Ruedrich, Director Tabitha Crocker becomes the new director in fall 2016.
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East Indiana Area Health Education Center (EI-AHEC) . Grantee contact person completes brief grant summary report via online form Grant Application Contact . 2020-2021 EI-AHEC Mini-Grant Information Application Page 1 1. Project Title and 1-2 Sentence Summary: 2.
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