Eastern Montana Area Health Education Center (Eastern MT AHEC) at RiverStone Health is a part of a statewide network of Area Health Education Centers created to train, recruit and retain healthcare professionals in rural/frontier Montana.

By getting school-age and college students interested in health careers, we will ensure the next generation of healthcare professionals.

 The AHEC (Area Health Education Center) program was developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to under served populations.  Grants to fund AHEC's were always made to the medical school(s) within the states.  The only exception to this has been the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSM).  In this case, the federal government provided funding to the UWSM to start AHEC's in Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho: all partners in the Regional WWAMI program.

On October 1, 1985, the Montana AHEC was implemented.  The program office for the Montana Area Health Education Center/Office of Rural Health is located on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman.  In September 2007, under new rules allowing Colleges of Nursing to apply for AHEC grants, the MSU College of Nursing applied and was awarded a grant to establish four regional AHEC offices in Montana in addition to the Bozeman Program Office.  In year one, the South Central Regional office was set up in Dillon under the auspices of the Montana Hospital Association, and the Eastern Regional AHEC office was located in Billings at RiverStone Health.  In year two the Western MT Regional AHEC was established in Missoula at the University of Montana. In year three, the North Central Regional AHEC was established in Cut Bank.  Each region has a director/program manager, has established a regional advisory council and works continuously to develop healthcare workforce strategies for their region.  While every office has the overall focus mentioned above, each regional office has its own emphasis as well.

The Eastern Montana AHEC has many innovative projects structured around the mission of increasing the quality and accessibility of healthcare throughout the region, with a strong emphasis on educational programming in healthcare careers.. 

State-wide recruitment of healthcare providers to rural and under served areas is another focus.  The recruitment efforts are multi-pronged with such activities as attendance at national recruitment fairs, establishment of relationships with healthcare training programs and their students, assisting with placement of healthcare/medical students for practical training opportunities in Montana communities and assisting with matches between facilities and potential candidates.

AHEC's are aspiring to gain recognition throughout the state in order to build meaningful relationships with local healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and community organizations. They aim to make great strides in improving the overall quality of healthcare throughout the state and throughout the nation. 

Eastern MT AHEC at RiverStone Health
Address: 123 S. 27th Street
Phone: 406.247.3285 or 406.247.3379
Fax: 406.651.6418
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

ahec@riverstonehealth.org