About GSAHEC

Gulfcoast South Area Health Education Center connects students to careers, professionals to communities and communities to better health. We inspire, train, recruit and retain a diverse and broad range of health professionals to practice in communities where the need is greatest.

GSAHEC is a not for profit organization affiliated with the University of South Florida AHEC Program. GSAHEC was established in 1995 and serves Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

GSAHEC is part of a larger, statewide network, the Florida AHEC Network, which includes five AHEC programs at each of the state’s five medical schools and 10 centers covering all 67 counties of the state. We are also an active member of the National AHEC Organization, which supports 50 AHEC programs with more than 200 centers that operate in almost every state and the District of Columbia.

GSAHEC inspires youth to choose a career in the health professions with our health career camps, mentoring programs, college preparatory courses and more. We focus on recruiting more minority and disadvantaged youth into health careers because research and experience indicate they will be more likely to care for the medically underserved. As our population becomes more diverse, it is important that our health care workforce reflects that diversity.

GSAHEC coordinates clinical training opportunities at community-based sites for students who are enrolled in a health professions training program. The AHEC sites bring health disparities to life for students, who see first-hand the needs of uninsured and underinsured patients. During 2006-2007 more than 400 health professions students were trained throughout our nine counties to introduce them to the rewards and challenges of working with the medically needy – and possibly influence their career decisions. These students provided more than 30,700 hours of care to an estimated 44,600 patients, much of it in the state’s community/migrant health centers, health departments, rural health clinics and other sites serving the medically needy. The dollar amount placed on such care is valued at almost $715,000.

We recruit talented, dedicated health professionals who want to make a difference in the community and match them with positions in medically underserved communities. And we support local health care by providing resources such as continuing education programs, library services and technical assistance to meet health professionals’ needs in order to retain them in the communities who need them most.