Convening and Leading Statewide Stakeholders to Address Primary Care Shortages in Georgia
Abstract
The Strength of Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) is its ability to creatively adapt national and state initiatives to help address local and regional healthcare issues. The Georgia Statewide AHEC has six unique not-for-profit regional AHECs as well as the Georgia Statewide AHEC Program Office. Since 2008 the Georgia Statewide AHEC Network has spearheaded efforts to prioritize work in health workforce development to focus on the shortage of primary care providers in Georgia. Primary care and public health are interconnected. Public health often relies on the foundation of accessible and effective primary care services to reach individuals within a population. The success of primary care is influenced by public health initiatives that create a healthier overall environment. Beginning in 2008 the Georgia Statewide AHEC and its Primary Care Workgroup have hosted invitation only meetings with stakeholders across Georgia to develop a Primary Care Agenda for our state. This agenda represents a collaboration amongst many to produce a consensus strategy to address our state’s primary care needs. Since inception, the Summit has focused on the educational pathways of health professions students and developing models, innovations, strategies, and a work plan to increase the number of students selecting primary care careers and influencing their eventual practice locations. The summit allows stakeholders to have a carefully structured process with commitment from stakeholders across the state to create a common agenda for addressing the primary care shortages in the state. The AHEC Primary Care Summit has been successful in accomplishing many priority projects because of the Summit. The presenter will share timeline of the AHEC Primary Care Summit, accomplishments to date, agenda structure and organization, and how the Summit outcomes help build a collaborative agenda for all stakeholders.
Keywords
primary care, shortage, AHEC, agenda
Convening and Leading Statewide Stakeholders to Address Primary Care Shortages in Georgia
The Strength of Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) is its ability to creatively adapt national and state initiatives to help address local and regional healthcare issues. The Georgia Statewide AHEC has six unique not-for-profit regional AHECs as well as the Georgia Statewide AHEC Program Office. Since 2008 the Georgia Statewide AHEC Network has spearheaded efforts to prioritize work in health workforce development to focus on the shortage of primary care providers in Georgia. Primary care and public health are interconnected. Public health often relies on the foundation of accessible and effective primary care services to reach individuals within a population. The success of primary care is influenced by public health initiatives that create a healthier overall environment. Beginning in 2008 the Georgia Statewide AHEC and its Primary Care Workgroup have hosted invitation only meetings with stakeholders across Georgia to develop a Primary Care Agenda for our state. This agenda represents a collaboration amongst many to produce a consensus strategy to address our state’s primary care needs. Since inception, the Summit has focused on the educational pathways of health professions students and developing models, innovations, strategies, and a work plan to increase the number of students selecting primary care careers and influencing their eventual practice locations. The summit allows stakeholders to have a carefully structured process with commitment from stakeholders across the state to create a common agenda for addressing the primary care shortages in the state. The AHEC Primary Care Summit has been successful in accomplishing many priority projects because of the Summit. The presenter will share timeline of the AHEC Primary Care Summit, accomplishments to date, agenda structure and organization, and how the Summit outcomes help build a collaborative agenda for all stakeholders.
