Virginia AHEC program to retain healthcare professionals in underserved areas

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - It’s an ongoing crisis being felt in the healthcare field--a shortage of healthcare professionals. Two of our hometown clinics are being recognized for training students in underserved areas where care is needed most. It’s part of a Virginia program to help aid in retaining professionals.

Virginia is facing an unprecedented health workforce crisis, from nurses to behavioral health workers, physicians and dentists. As of March 2024, 70 of Virginia’s 95 counties are health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) with low-income citizens disproportionately affected.

“There’s no region in Virginia that doesn’t experience a Health Professional Shortage, which is alarming to us, especially if you’re living in Richmond and are thinking, no, we’re covered here. So those are areas that we should be concerned about making sure people have access to the healthcare that they need,” said Virginia AHEC & Programs Director Amy Taloma.

To combat the issue, the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (VHWDA) is creating eight Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) to provide community-based clinical training to current health professions students in the Commonwealth.

“The host sites will also be mentoring our AHEC Scholars. Every year we select 120 students that are in the last two years of their health professionals training to participate in our AHEC Scholars program,” said Taloma.

The AHEC Scholars program is designed to give students hands-on experience to healthcare careers in rural and medically underserved communities. The goal? To retain students to work in those regions.

“One of the best parts of it is, is they get to see our area and it gives an opportunity for us to recruit new dentists to the valley. We’re always having turnover with people retiring and we always need fresh new faces with the latest technology and the latest information to continue to move dentistry forward in a positive manner,” said Bradley Free Clinic Dentist, Scott Miller.

Dentistry is one of many health care services the Bradley Free Clinic offers. The clinic in Roanoke along with the Free Clinic of Central Virginia in Lynchburg were among the AHEC sites selected because of the training they already provide to health profession students while caring for medically underserved patients.

“Whether they’re homeless, whether they haven’t had a job in several years, maybe they are struggling with behavioral health issues, and they can’t hold down a job. So, when students come to the Bradley Free Clinic, they get to experience what it’s like to treat a population that is in need, and they can’t afford their own medical insurance,” said Bradley Free Clinic Executive Director, Janine Underwood.

Students have until November 5 to apply for the AHEC program.

The new AHEC sites are:

Blue Ridge Region: Augusta Health, Fishersville

Central Region: Mary Washington Healthcare, Fredericksburg

Eastern Virginia Region: ODU Community Care, Norfolk

Northern Virginia Region: Claude Moore Opportunities, Fairfax

Rappahannock Region: Northern Neck Free Health Clinic, Kilmarnock

South Central Region: Free Clinic of Central Virginia, Lynchburg

Southside Region: PATHS in Southside (Piedmont Access to Health Services), South Boston

Southwest Region: Bradley Free Clinic, Roanoke