Established by the U.S. Congress in 1971, Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) are a network of programs and centers in the United States designed to improve access to healthcare and address healthcare workforce shortages, particularly in rural and underserved areas. The Interior AHEC, hosted by Foundation Health Partners, is one of six regional centers sponsored by the Alaska AHEC program office at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Interior AHEC implements healthcare workforce engagement, training, recruiting, and retention activities.

Engage: Engaging youth and adults by providing educational hands-on activities, camps, and events exploring and preparing for healthcare careers and opportunities in Alaska.

Train: Training health professions students for practice in rural and underserved communities by targeting all disciplines from certificate to doctoral programs and working with health facilities and providers across the state to provide community-based experiential learning opportunities.

Retain: Recruiting and retaining a high-quality healthcare workforce in Alaska by providing access to continuing education, resiliency, and loan repayment opportunities. The ultimate goal is to stabilize the healthcare workforce to meet the needs of Alaska.