UAMS Staff, Students Attend National AHEC Conference
| Four staff members from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Regional Campuses and four UAMS AHEC Scholars recently attended the National Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Organization 2025 Biennial Conference, held June 17-20 in Lexington, Kentucky.
The conference brought together more than 600 AHEC leaders, scholars, health care professionals and partners from across the country for four days of learning, inspiration and connection under the theme of strengthening impact through collaboration and innovation.
The National AHEC Organization supports a network of more than 300 AHEC program offices and centers nationwide, serving over 85% of U.S. counties with the mission to improve access to quality health care through strategic workforce partnerships.
UAMS attendees included:
- Stephen Attebery, M.Ed., program manager, UAMS South Regional Campus – Magnolia
- Kwasi Boateng, Ph.D., manager of evaluation
- Marcia Byers, Ph.D., RN, senior director of Regional Campuses
- Sarah Eastham, B.A., director of analytics
They were joined by four UAMS AHEC Scholars:
- Sabrina Leonard, physician assistant student; UAMS AHEC Scholars vice president
- Brylie Richie, physician assistant student; AHEC Scholars PA class representative
- Szaria Thomas, College of Pharmacy student; AHEC Scholars Pharm.D. class representative
- Kenndy Smith, College of Pharmacy student
“The National AHEC Conference was an incredibly valuable experience for me as a student,” Leonard said. “I loved the opportunity to connect with professionals across various health care disciplines, especially since many of them began their journeys as AHEC Scholars and have remained involved to advocate for expanding access to rural health opportunities. It was inspiring to see how deeply rooted the commitment to rural and underserved communities is within the AHEC network.
“What made the conference especially meaningful was the chance to learn from other health care professional students, explore collaborative opportunities in research and advocacy and highlight the unique strengths of programs like mine that operate under the AHEC umbrella through regional campuses,” Leonard added.
Throughout the conference, attendees engaged in plenary sessions, poster presentations and hands-on learning opportunities focused on rural health innovation, community-based education, academic pathways and health care workforce development.
Tyne Parlett gave the opening plenary talk on the importance of perception and perspective, while Silas House, bestselling author and cultural advocate, shared his perspective on Appalachian identity and resilience. Alex Elswick, Ph.D., spoke on the importance of multiple pathways to addiction recovery. Tim Putnam, DHA, gave a plenary talk on the value of an agrarian approach to community health care.
AHEC Scholars participated in immersive field experiences, including wilderness medicine training at Red River Gorge in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest and a visit to a local recovery program, gaining firsthand insight into the challenges faced by rural health care providers.
“My favorite experience was the wilderness medicine exposition,” Leonard said. “We hiked a beautiful trail, took in breathtaking scenery and engaged in hands-on learning about topics like snake bites, venomous injuries, search and rescue, and emergency flight medicine. It was powerful to learn how much of this work is sustained by donations and more importantly, how we, as future providers, can help preserve and support these vital programs.”
AHEC Scholars is a national initiative through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) geared toward professional health care students. Through training and team-based clinical experiences, the goal of the AHEC Scholars program is to encourage future health care providers to work in rural areas and/or primary care settings.
Originally called Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), regional campuses were first created in 1973 through the efforts of then-Gov. Dale Bumpers, the Arkansas Legislature and UAMS to train medical residents and provide clinical care and health education services around the state.