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Established in 1985 as the first AHEC Program in Florida, the NSU AHEC Program coordinates the development and administration AHEC programming and services in close coordination with its affiliated AHEC Centers throughout a 19-county geographic service area spanning from Broward County north to Orlando and west to the Gulf of Mexico. This area comprises approximately 40% of Florida’s land area and population.
Since its inception, the NSU AHEC program office has continued to actively facilitate the linking of academic health resources with the needs found in rural and inner-city underserved communities throughout the region to enhance the delivery of primary care services and address a wide range of public health issues of priority to the state. The wide variety of community-based activities required to address these needs are conducted by the NSU-affiliated AHEC Centers.
About Florida AHEC Programs
Florida AHECs are a major component of the state’s safety net health care system in partnership with other major federal and state initiatives for medically underserved communities. There are five AHEC program offices hosted by medical schools at Florida State University, Nova Southeastern University, University of Florida, University of Miami, and University of South Florida. Affiliated with these AHEC Programs are 10 regional community-based AHECs that focus on rural, underserved, minority, and immigrant communities with severe unmet health care needs.
Florida AHECs support the state’s indigent safety net health care system by responding to access to care issues, health workforce recruitment and retention, promoting the quality of health care, and strengthening the public health infrastructure in high impact, medically needy communities.
NSU AHEC Affiliated Centers
Central Florida AHEC, Inc.
Central Florida Area Health Education Center (CFAHEC) is a 501-(c)-3 non-profit organization that serves a nine-county service area throughout in the Heartland Region of Florida. The region includes the counties of Brevard, Hardee, Highlands, Lake, Osceola, Orange, Polk, Seminole, and Sumter.
Blake Warren, MHS, Executive Director
328 S. Central Ave.
Apopka, FL 32703
(407) 889-2292
Everglades AHEC, Inc.
The Everglades Area Health Education Center (EAHEC) is also a 501-(c)-3 non-profit organization that serves a ten-county service area encompassing South Florida, Southwest Florida, and the Glades Region of the state. The region includes the counties of Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie.
Joe Peters, Executive Director
5725 Corporate Way
West Palm Beach, FL 33407
(561) 640-3620
Programs
The AHEC Scholars Program provides health professions students with interprofessional learning opportunities focused on building the skills and competencies needed to transform primary care and patient care. Each year of the two-year program consists of 40 hours of experiential learning assignments and 40 hours of online modules.
Additional Resources
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) – Provides scholarship and loan repayment opportunities for health professions students in selected fields who are interested in serving the medically underserved after completion of their training. For more information, visit https://nhsc.hrsa.gov
Tobacco Cessation Resources - The NSU AHEC Program provides training and other support services to health professionals to better address tobacco dependence in the clinical setting. To learn more about these services and how to refer to AHEC’s tobacco cessation classes, please visit https://ahectobacco.com/ or https://tobaccofreeflorida.com/
Contact the Program Office
Steven B. Zucker, D.M.D., M.Ed.
3300 S. University Drive,
Carl DeSantis Building., Ste. 5081
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328-2004
Tel. (954) 262-1588
Fax. (954) 262-3209