Southeast Nebraska Area Health Education Center

ahec logoEstablished in 2001 with federal funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Nebraska AHEC Program is based at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and operates through five regional centers in Kearney, Norfolk, Scottsbluff, Lincoln, and Omaha. As part of the National AHEC Organization, this network improves access to healthcare across all 93 Nebraska counties by connecting local communities with the resources of UNMC and other health professions training programs.

AHEC advances this mission by:

  • Recruiting students into the health professions, including health career programs for grades 9–16 in Nebraska's public schools
  • Partnering with community organizations to address local health needs and secure federal and private funding
  • Providing continuing education that improves care for vulnerable populations
  • Creating community-based training opportunities that help place health professions students in underserved areas
  • Operating the Nebraska AHEC Scholars Program, which deepens students' understanding of rural and urban care for underserved populations

Mission

Nebraska Area Health Education Center's Mission: To meet the state's health and health workforce needs. The Nebraska AHEC Program provides educational programs and services that bridge academic institutions and communities to improve the health of Nebraskans with a focus on rural and underserved populations.

Program Goals

  • Develop and sustain a robust and local health workforce in Nebraska by engaging youth and others to complete health professions training programs and enter health careers.
  • Recruit health students to consider working in rural underserved areas of the state by providing clinical experiences in these communities during their training.
  • Retain health professionals in these regions by offering accessible continuing education and professional development opportunities.
 

SE Nebraska AHEC Center 2025-2026

Students exposed to health careers Nebraska AHEC Scholars Clinical training rotation hours supported at 14 different locations Total hours of continuing ed provided to 95 healthcare professionals
651 163 2,460 579

 

University of Nebraska Medical Center released the 2023 Status of the Healthcare Workforce in the State of Nebraska, a report funded by the Nebraska AHEC Program and produced in collaboration with the College of Public Health and other partners. The report provides a snapshot of the current health workforce in Nebraska that will help measure the progress we've made in the state to address health workforce issues and to help inform efforts to improve access to quality healthcare, particularly in Nebraska's rural and underserved areas.