FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4/19/22

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MILWAUKEE AHEC CELEBRATES 30th ANNIVERSARY
Celebrating 30 years of being a catalyst for change

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Milwaukee Area Health Education Center (AHEC) will be celebrating its 30th anniversary with a luncheon on June 23 at Alverno College from 11:30-1:00 pm. Tickets are $45 each.

 

“Milwaukee AHEC is one of seven regional Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers in the state with a tradition of being a catalyst for change since 1992,” states Tifany Frazer, Milwaukee AHEC Board Chair. “We intend to continue that tradition for many years to come.”

 

Milwaukee AHEC is focused on addressing the central city healthcare worker shortage issue by providing students with the opportunity to gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes to successfully become the next generation of community-engaged health professionals. “We have served over 20,000 in the Southeastern Wisconsin area in our employer-endorsed training programs in collaboration with partnering health systems. These health system partnerships have resulted in greater health education and improved health behaviors throughout the communities where we serve,” says Executive Director DeDe Williams.

 

Program partnering health systems include Humana/Independent Care Health Plan (iCare), Medical College of Wisconsin, Alverno College, AdvocateAurora Health, Froedtert Hospital, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to name a few.

“We are very honored to be recognized by Milwaukee AHEC as the recipient of the Connecting Communities Award,” said Tony Mollica, Humana’s Wisconsin Medicaid President and iCare CEO. “Community Health Workers do invaluable work by connecting members to services they otherwise might not trust. Milwaukee AHEC excels at positioning people from diverse backgrounds to excel within career opportunities in health they may not have considered. We hire numerous candidates who have completed Community Health Worker certification through Milwaukee AHEC due to the high caliber and quality expectations they have within the program.”    

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Milwaukee AHEC current programs include COVID-19 Community Outreach, Community Health Worker (CHW) Supervisor Training, CHW Covid-19 Educational Training, Community Health Training Certificate, Community Health Internship Program (CHIP), the Aging Mastery Program, the Community Based Experimental Training Program, AHEC Scholars, Wisconsin Express, Youth Health Services, AHEC Alumni, as well as an IP Healthcare Case Competition.

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Milwaukee AHEC student programs target high school through college graduate students, as well as continuing education students in health professions throughout Southeast Wisconsin. In 2003, Milwaukee AHEC expanded its boundaries to include Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, and Waukesha counties.

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The 30th anniversary luncheon program will include presentations of the following awards:

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Connecting Student Awards
• Elizabeth Prichard, Science Teacher, Messmer High School

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Connecting Professionals Awards
• Steve Ohly, RN, NP, Marriage and Family Therapist Family Support Specialist, Aurora Walker's Point Community Clinic

 

Connecting Communities Awards
• Ricky Santos, Director of Medicaid Care Coordination, Humana / iCare

• Lisa Brooks, CHW II, Advanced Housing Navigator, Humana / iCare

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“We are proud of the work we have done and the partnership connections we have established over these past 30 years. We want to celebrate our past, as we look forward to our future,” concluded Williams.