AHEC > About Minnesota AHEC > Welcome from the Director

Welcome from the Director

Welcome to Minnesota Area Health Education Center (Minnesota AHEC), a network of community and academic partners committed to meeting the health professional workforce needs of greater Minnesota.

Minnesota AHEC exemplifies the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center’s “Greater Minnesota Strategy,” which proposes community-academic partnerships at a regional level to address health professions workforce issues and meet the health care needs of greater Minnesota. The Greater Minnesota Strategy supports the Academic Health Center’s Strategic Plan, which calls for:

• preparing the next generation of Minnesota’s health professionals;
• preparing professionals who can apply new knowledge to improve care delivery; and
• reducing health disparities and addressing the needs of the state’s diverse populations.

Since initiating Minnesota AHEC in 2002, we have established four regional AHECs. The regional AHECs work to meet the unique health professional workforce needs of greater Minnesota by nurturing youth as they explore health careers, providing community-based, interprofessional training for health professions students, and supporting continuing education for health care professionals and community members.

Minnesota AHEC’s primary academic partner, the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, plays a unique role in the state of Minnesota. The Academic Health Center educates two-thirds of Minnesota’s health professionals (dentists, physicians, advanced nurse practitioners, pharmacists, public health professionals, and veterinarians). The evolving Center for Allied Health Programs (CAHP), a part of the Academic Health Center, responds to increasingly serious workforce shortages of allied health professionals in Minnesota.

As part of the University’s strategic positioning process, an Academic Health Center task force recently completed a report on the status of the health professional workforce, a process that allowed us to further explore the complex issues facing health professions education. This report’s recommendations will further the work of Minnesota AHEC as it strives to meet the state’s health professional workforce needs. I invite you to review this timely report.

Yours sincerely,

Barbara F. Brandt, Ph.D.
Director, Minnesota Area Health Education Center
Assistant Vice President for Education
University of Minnesota Academic Health Center

Minnesota Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Professions cooperative agreement # 1U76-HP00599-01 funded through Title VII of the Public Health Service Act.