Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

Healthy Acadia has served as Maine’s Eastern Area Health Education Center (AHEC) since 2023. Our service area includes Washington, Hancock, Waldo, and Knox counties.

The mission of Maine AHEC is to enhance health equity and reduce health disparities among underserved populations through team and community-based experiential education and strategic partnerships.

Maine AHECs provide community-based clinical training experiences to health professions students; encourage Maine youth to pursue careers in the health professions; offer training and continuing education programs to practicing health professionals; and develop public health approaches to address current and emerging community needs.

Additional AHECs are located in Northern Maine, Western Maine, and at University of New England’s Maine Program Office. The Maine AHEC Network is supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), UNE, the Finance Authority of Maine, and other grants, donations, and sources.

About the AHEC Program

The purpose of the AHEC Program is to develop and enhance education and training networks within communities, academic institutions, and community-based organizations with the goal of enhancing health equity and reducing health disparities among underserved populations through team and community based experiential education and strategic partnerships. 

Through the program, Healthy Acadia works with partners across eastern Maine to offer community-based learning experiences for middle, high school, and collegiate students and health professionals. In turn, these networks seek to increase diversity among health professionals, broaden the distribution of the health workforce, enhance health care quality, and improve health care delivery to rural and underserved areas and populations.

AHEC partners work together to:

  • Create rural health immersion opportunities for health professions students to learn more about rural and underserved communities, including:

    • Rural Health Immersions for CUP (Care for the Underserved Pathways) AHEC Scholars.

  • Community-based experiential learning for non-CUP scholars.

  • Create pathways for middle and high school students and displaced workers to experience health careers while encouraging them to pursue post-secondary education in healthcare fields.

  • Support graduate-level health professions students to gain the leadership skills to succeed in their future healthcare fields, with a rural emphasis.

  • Collaborate with healthcare partners to provide continuing education programs for current health professionals.

  • Support four-week enhanced Clerkship Rotations.

Click here to download the AHEC Informational Brochure (PDF).

For more information about AHEC opportunities and programs, contact Maria Donahue by email at maria@healthyacadia.org or by phone at (207) 667-7171.