Mountain AHEC
Serving Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey counties. ContactDirector of Health Careers and Diversity Education Featured programs and activities:Diversity Resource Council (DRC)Functions as a cross-divisional team, to serve, educate, and assist in the attainment of MAHEC’s strategic plan in order to become an effective, diverse, culturally competent workforce and to support MAHEC’s efforts to educate and advance diversity in the health care workforce of western North Carolina. Health Careers Education Awareness ProgramsIncreases educator awareness of opportunities that will heighten knowledge of health careers by providing practical information for guiding students in making informed decisions about health careers. This initiative is also designed to build linkages and develop partnerships with the education communities in the public, non-public school and home school sectors. MAHEC/WCU Health Careers Summer CampDesigned as an early intervention tool to help increase the health profession applicant pool with special emphasis on underrepresented populations. This six-day residential camp targets economically and educationally disadvantaged and underrepresented minority middle school students who have a possible interest in future careers in health care. Health Careers Information and Enrichment Workshops (HCIE)Created by the North Carolina Health Careers Access Program (NC-HCAP). Interactive workshops for 5th through 12th grade students are designed to motivate and encourage students to consider careers in the health professions. Each workshop provides students with information about college preparation, admissions, and financial resources. All HCIE workshops are held in collaboration with NC-HCAP. SAT Prep Strategies CourseTeaches strategies on how to prepare for and score higher on the SAT test. Students receive instruction and take a mock SAT test. A personal consultation is provided to parents and students on the results of the verbal, math and reading scores. Diversity Training InitiativesDesigned to further develop and enhance participants’ cultural diversity education. Participants discuss specific situations encountered in the workplace and examples of how to deal with them. Managers and supervisors receive practical tools in managing and supporting an environment that encourages and values an increasingly diverse workforce and patient population. School Career FairsIncrease awareness of health careers for potential health science students, educators, and counselors via printed materials, audiovisual presentations, and other appropriate mediums. CSI West Summer in Science Day CampTargets high school students in Swain and Jackson counties. Program is designed to improve competence in science and nurture enthusiasm while increasing students’ interest in research and other science-related related careers. The program includes explorations in the use of forensic science techniques. CSI West InternshipsProvides seniors and high-achieving juniors from Swain and Jackson counties an opportunity to receive hands-on experiences through a structured, paid internship program that includes training and supervision. Interns may work in a variety of settings, such as pathology labs, environmental science, hospitals, clinical settings and more. TouchPoint
Candice Craig, student Many students who have participated in Mountain AHEC programs have gone on to attend colleges and universities including:
Partners in the Mountain AHEC region include:
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“One of the most positive results from the CSI internship is the people I met over the summer who showed me opportunities beyond my time at the hospital. Now I am volunteering at the Good Samaritan Clinic, where I can continue to increase my knowledge with on-site learning. Every day in school I feel I am ahead of my class. This is the greatest aspect of the program for me, because I was sick with nervousness about starting college and failing. So many intelligent and successful people told me, ‘You’re going to make it.’ I have that burst of confidence that is going to help me make it through this year and the rest of my educational career. I hope you will continue touching people’s lives and those who share my passion to work in the medical field.”