By Benjamin Davis / The Jambar
Eastern Ohio Area Health Education Center announced Jan. 27 that Youngstown State University’s Sheila Blank had been appointed as the newest member of its board of directors.
Blank is an associate professor in nursing and director of the Centofanti School of Nursing, with decades of experience in both clinical practice and academics.
Chelsey Palmer, Eastern Ohio AHEC director, said Blank’s appointment shows YSU’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare workforce.
“We are very excited about [Blank’s] appointment to the board of directors. It just further shows YSU’s commitment to building a stronger healthcare workforce and working with the students to ensure that they’re prepared when they enter their professional fields, or if they matriculate on to medical schools,” Palmer said. “She definitely brings a community partnership that we’re very proud of and very excited to see where that leads.”
AHEC is a federally funded initiative meant to improve access to healthcare in underserved areas. According to Palmer, AHEC does this by supporting a professional healthcare workforce.
“The Area Health Education Center was developed by Congress in 1971,” Palmer said. “Our main goal is to recruit, train and retain a healthcare workforce that’s committed to underserved populations and rural populations in the community.”
To help train the designated workforce, AHEC has a number of programs designed to support college students in health and human services. Palmer said one of its largest of these initiatives is the AHEC Scholars Program, which helps students develop professional skills for future careers.
“One of our biggest programs is the AHEC Scholars Program, which was actually started back in 2017. It’s a national program of distinction. It emphasizes leadership, interprofessional collaboration and community-based care,” Palmer said.
To help students address specific needs in their community, Palmer said the program focuses on hands-on learning and preparation with community-centered training.
“Essentially, we work with students who are in healthcare related fields, such as students here at YSU, and we provide them with experiential and didactic training in the community so that they know the specific needs of the community and are able to address them as they enter into the professional workforce,” Palmer said.
To be eligible for the AHEC Scholars Program, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old and a full-time student in their sophomore or junior year of college. The program is a 160-hour commitment over two to three years, and students in it must remain active through graduation.
For more information on the program, students can go to the Eastern Ohio AHEC’s website or email them at eoahec@gmail.com.