Who We Are
About Us
Pee Dee Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is a hospital based AHEC located at McLeod Health and is one of four regional centers of the SC Area Health Education Consortium. Created in 1973, Pee Dee Area Health Education Center (AHEC) builds and supports the healthcare workforce the twelve northeastern counties in South Carolina needs through educational programming and academic partnerships in order to broaden the distribution, increase the diversity, and access to high quality primary care especially across our rural and underserved communities.
History
In 1971, Congress developed the AHEC (Area Health Education Centers) program to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. The National AHEC network has expanded to include 54 programs and more than 200 centers operating in almost every state and the District of Columbia. South Carolina AHEC was established in 1972 as one of the first 11 AHECs created in the country. Today, SC AHEC is a robust system servicing the entire state of South Carolina through federal funding from HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration), recurring state funds and private grant funding from philanthropic organizations. The South Carolina AHEC Program Office is a state agency that is administratively housed at MUSC in Charleston. South Carolina AHEC contracts with the four regional AHEC centers located throughout the state to meet the local needs of rural and underserved areas in every county of South Carolina.
Staff Directory
| James Brown | Health Careers Program Coordinator |
| Becca Hamilton | Health Professions Student Coordinator |
| Kirstie Hogges | Health Professions Student Coordinator |
| Nita Jackson | Administrative Assistant |
| Kimberly Morris | Allied Health Continuing Professional Development Coordinator |
| Beejay Parnell | Nursing Continuing Professional Development Coordinator |
| Karen Price | Office Coordinator |
| April Orange | Program Director, McLeod Health School of Medical Laboratory Science |
| Subira Smalls | Health Careers Program Coordinator |
| Gail B. Weaver | Director, Pee Dee AHEC |
What We Do
Working closely with regional academic partners, and community healthcare providers and organizations, Pee Dee AHEC connects students and professionals with the tools, training, and resources necessary to develop quality patient-focused care workforce, with a focus on primary care for rural and underserved. Our education programs support the health professions pipeline from high school and college students, health professions students and practicing professions.
Service Area
Located in Florence, Pee Dee AHEC serves a twelve county region in northeastern South Carolina.
