Chicago Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

For more information about this program please contact:
Jessica Coffee, Chicago AHEC Program Coordinator, jcoffee@hmprg.org
Ronisha Edwards-Elliott, Director, Chicago AHEC and Workforce Programs, redwardselliott@hmprg.org

Overview

The Chicago Area Health Education Center is part of the National AHEC Organization (NAO) developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train, and retain a health professions workforce committed to under-served populations. Locally, within the Illinois AHEC Network, the Chicago AHEC program provides a link between needed health resources and local communities.

The goal of Chicago AHEC is to improve the supply, distribution, and quality of health care professionals in Chicago through a blend of didactic learning and community-based experiences.

Applications are now open for the Chicago AHEC Scholars Program, with a priority deadline of September 30. This national initiative offers health professions students hands-on experience in underserved communities, mentorship, career coaching, and 80 hours of specialized training each year. Scholars receive a $250 annual award, a certificate of completion, and the opportunity to strengthen leadership, teamwork, and health equity skills. Eligible applicants include third- and fourth-year undergraduates, graduate students, and selected associate degree students in the Chicago area. 

Learn more and apply at ilahec.uic.edu/program/illinois-ahec-scholars (choose Chicago as your region when applying). 

High School Students

Interested in a career in health care? AHEC can help you find your career path.

Community Health Worker Pathway Program is an opportunity for minority and economically disadvantaged 10th-12th grade students in suburban Cook County to explore health care career pathways through community health work. During the CHW training, students will engage in an immersive curriculum, gain work experience, and complete a capstone project to present at the program’s culmination. CHW Training is a great segue into learning about other healthcare and allied health professions, and participants also network and learn about various pathway programs.

To learn more about this program, check out our program flyer.

Registration is now open. Click here to register.

Educators and Health Professionals

In partnership with various community-based organizations and partners, The Chicago AHEC Speakers Bureau offers early exposure of healthcare professions to elementary and high school students in the Chicagoland area. The Speakers Bureau includes over 50 speakers from an array of disciplines including nursing, medicine, public health, pharmacology, dentistry, veterinary and more. Our speakers present at career days, career fairs, and other public health and early exposure events. 

Contact us to schedule a date to speak with your group.

 

Are you interested in sharing your professional experience by being a member of our Speakers Bureau? We encourage health professionals of all levels to join! Click here to sign up.

AHEC Scholars

Applications are open for the Chicago AHEC Scholars Program. 

Learn more and apply at ilahec.uic.edu/program/illinois-ahec-scholars (choose Chicago as your region when applying). 

Chicago AHEC Scholars is part of a national program designed to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities facing today’s health professions – and to ensure that they effectively contribute as up-and-coming health professionals. AHEC Scholars make meaningful connections that can lead to and strengthen future employment. They network with students from various health fields and meet local employers, and learn about career opportunities in the area.

AHEC Scholars take part in a variety of opportunities:

  • Job shadowing
  • Career coaching
  • Virtual networking
  • One summer institute per year
  • Immersion experiences in underserved communities
  • Participation in a community service-learning project
  • Virtual options are available for all program components.

Requirements:

  • Applicants must be third- or fourth-year undergraduates or graduate students enrolled in a health career program. AHEC Scholars is also open to associate degree students in selected health career programs.
  • Applicants must be available to begin this program in the fall of 2025.
  • Applicants must be able to make a two-year commitment.
  • Applicants must have access to a computer and a reliable internet connection.
  • All Chicago area students who meet the requirements will be considered.

Each year of the AHEC Scholars program includes 40 hours of community-based, experiential, or clinical training in an underserved area and 40 hours of didactic education focused on the program’s core topics:

  • Interprofessional Education
  • Behavioral Health Integration
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Cultural Competency
  • Practice Transformation
  • An emerging issue important to the local area

AHEC Scholars who complete the required activities will receive a $250 award each year and a certificate of completion upon completion of the second year.

Speakers Bureau

Since 2017, Chicago AHEC’s Speakers Bureau has linked professionals representing diverse health careers—from nursing and medicine to public health and psychology—to career seekers to inform, motivate, and empower them to pursue attainable health career goals.

Through partnerships with Health & Medicine’s Schweitzer Fellows for Life program and other networks, Chicago AHEC provides professional mentorship to underrepresented students who are enrolled in health career programs across the Chicagoland area. In 2020, our speakers reached 618 Chicago Public School (CPS) students. During the 2021-2022 school year, the Speakers Bureau was offered virtually to 100 CPS students. We are pleased to report that we received positive feedback on the speaking engagement evaluations, with CPS Staff reporting that the speaking engagements offered wonderful information about a range of health careers that students are often less familiar with.

In the past year, the Chicago AHEC team spent a significant amount of time overhauling the Speakers Bureau in order to build a more committed group of speakers who are available to speak about health care career pathways and opportunities. As part of this process, we are pleased to launch a new interactive Speakers Bureau online directory that allows CPS schools to easily search for and schedule speakers. Visit the directory here!

Our Other Initiatives and Programs

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