OHWI Area Health Education Center

 Part of Pacific University's Office of Scholarship & Sponsored Projects (OSSP)

"Advancing the development of a high-quality health care workforce to improve the health of every Oregonian"

The Oregon Healthcare Workforce Institute Area Health Education Center (OHWI AHEC) works to support the recruitment, retention, and training of a diverse health care professional workforce, especially for professionals providing primary care services within Oregon's rural and urban underserved communities. OHWI AHEC leverages the combined resources of Pacific University, OHSU, and community partnerships to enrich the experiences, training, and education of future and practicing health care professionals.

The OHWI AHEC region encompasses Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas counties. Home to some of Oregon’s largest health systems and academic institutions for the health professions, the OHWI AHEC region has a large community of health professions students, residents, and practicing health professionals. OHWI AHEC works to enhance the quality of health services provided by these professionals to support members of the tri-county community most in need such as our federally designated medically underserved populations including Native Americans, Homeless, Low-Income, and Seasonal Migrant Workers.

As part of Pacific University’s learning community, OHWI AHEC is committed to leveraging the resources of the campus community and greater Oregon AHEC system to benefit the health of this region’s urban and rural underserved communities through the development of a diverse and educationally enriched health care workforce.

Our work involves increasing the educational opportunities available to Oregon’s active and future health care workforce to improve the quality of health services. Through collaborative partnerships with community and academic partners, OHWI AHEC strengthens the health care pipeline, expands the experience, capacity, and diversity of health professions students to be better prepared to provide high-quality care within a rural and urban underserved practice; promotes clinical practice transformation and upskilling of today’s providers, and supports evidence-based strategic planning for Oregon’s health care professionals.