Since our founding in 1991, Southwest Louisiana AHEC has administered over $66.3 million in grants and contracts.

The mission of the Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center is to improve health status through access to information, education and health services. We seek to improve health through numerous programs focusing on two main areas: 1) recruiting and educating health professionals and 2) educating the public on how to live healthier lives.

The vision of Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center is to be a premier community-based agency made up of diverse, knowledgeable and accountable employees and volunteers working together to achieve a common mission by providing creative solutions to health challenges.

Southwest AHEC is an independent nonprofit organization and a member of the national network of Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) operating in 48 states. AHECs are administered by the U. S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Health Professions. The AHEC network was launched in 1972 by federal legislation in response to the Carnegie Report on the workforce, which found severe shortages of health professionals existing nationwide.

The LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans received a grant from the national AHEC program in 1989 to establish the Louisiana AHEC system. Southwest AHEC was formed in 1991 to fill a recognized need for better coordination of regional health and education programs to benefit the residents of southwest Louisiana. The other regions of the state are serviced by the Southeast, Central and Bayou-North Louisiana AHECs.

While some AHECs in the country are no longer in existence, our two previous CEOs; Jeanne Solis and Margaret ‘Bootsie’ Durand, recognized the need to diversify our mission and funding beyond the recruitment and education of health professionals, and over time we morphed to more of a public health foundation.  Today, we are stronger than ever with over 100 full time employees, over 30 contract employees and numerous volunteers.  

Southwest AHEC has a 31-year history of administering numerous grants and contracts to coordinate, implement, and evaluate community-based health and education programs for targeted populations. Currently we are working on over 40 different public health initiatives that fall within our seven program departments:  Career and Professional Education, Health Interventions, Community Health, Community Resource, Public Health Support, and our newest Covid Response. 

Thank you for taking the time to look at our website.  I hope you are able to find the information you are looking for.  If not, please feel free to reach out to us for assistance.