The Michigan Area Health Education Center, a program of Wayne State University that seeks to increase access to quality primary health care providers in underserved communities, announced that it has been awarded a five-year, $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.
Michigan AHEC will use the funds to continue to strengthen its statewide network of five regional centers and support HRSA's mission to improve health and achieve health equity through access to quality services, a skilled health workforce and innovative programs.
By enabling Michigan AHEC to provide clinical experiences and continuing education programs for health care professionals and support practice transformation in primary care urban and rural underserved communities, this grant reinforces Michigan AHEC's alignment with Wayne State University's mission and values of community engagement, diversity and inclusion and commitment to excellence.
"This award is great news for future of health care in Michigan," said Tsveti Markova, M.D., co-principal investigator of Michigan AHEC, chair of the WSU Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences and associate dean for Graduate Medical Education in the Wayne State University School of Medicine. "This grant will allow us to build upon our efforts to improve access to health care in underserved areas and help us to positively impact the current and future health care workforce throughout Michigan."
"Having been with the program since its inception in 2010, I am pleased that HRSA sees the value of our interprofessional leadership and program model," said Ramona Benkert, co-principal investigator of Michigan AHEC, associate professor and associate dean of Academic and Clinical Affairs for the Wayne State University College of Nursing. "These additional five years of funding help us to continue our statewide efforts to enhance the distribution and diversity of the health care workforce and to support practice transformation in underserved communities."
Michigan AHEC also announced the recent selection of Covenant Community Care as its new host partner for its Southeast Regional Center.
Covenant Community Care Inc. is a faith-based charitable non-profit community health center serving the people of metropolitan Detroit. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, it offers integrated medical, dental and behavioral health care to approximately 20,000 people per year in six clinical sites in the Detroit area. The Michigan AHEC Southeast Regional Center serves nine counties in southeast Michigan: Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne.
"Our community health center is committed to helping young people from Detroit and southeastern Michigan to develop as health professionals who are equipped to serve everyone regardless of income or insurance status," said Paul Propson, chief executive officer of Covenant Community Care.
Michigan AHEC is funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (Grant U77HP26582) and Wayne State University. Academic partners include Wayne State University's College of Nursing, School of Medicine, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and School of Social Work; the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry; Central Michigan University; Western Michigan University; and Northern Michigan University.