Alaska Center for Rural Health and Health Workforce
The Alaska Center for Rural Health & Health Workforce (ACRH-HW) is committed to strengthening
and diversifying Alaska’s health workforce, especially in rural communities and underserved
populations. The Center is composed of a variety of programs, most notably the Alaska
Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) which is composed of six regional community based
centers throughout the state. As part of the University of Alaska Anchorage's role
as the state's health campus, the Center supports health program planning, community partnership, diversity, inclusion and intercampus
collaboration. The Center provides the framework of statewide community partnerships
to support the full pipeline of health workforce development from career exploration
to health program training to continuing education.
Co-principal investigators Tracey Burke, Ph.D., professor in the School of Social Work, and Holly Martinson, Ph.D., associate professor in the WWAMI School of Medical Education, hope the program empowers more Alaskans to pursue an advanced biomedical, research-focused degree and contribute to the research community.
UAA students have launched the Health Professionals Student Organization to support each other and share resources as they prepare for health careers and graduate programs.
For many Alaskans, getting reliable access to quality health care is a dream, not reality. What can be done to change that? One piece of the puzzle: Helping students in health care programs go on to be successful professionals across our state. On Alaska Public Media's "Talk of Alaska" radio show, we hear from Gloria Burnett on the innovative ways the College of Health is preparing future health care professionals in a range of fields, from clinical practice to population health.