AHEC West

AHEC West Mission: to improve access to and promote quality in healthcare through education and collaboration

Established in 1976, AHEC West is one of three Area Health Education Centers in Maryland, and 225-plus nationwide. A 501 c (3) non-profit, we work to reduce health disparities through a number of programs and initiatives, including:

The Clinical Education program, which hosts local rotations for upper-class University of Maryland health professions students to expose them to life in Western Maryland and encourage them to practice here. The Exploring Careers in Health Occupations (ECHO) program, which promotes health-career occupations to high school students in a bid to “grow our own” health professionals

The Health Insurance Program at AHEC West, whose staff of Navigators help area residents obtain health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. AHEC Scholars, a two-year program designed to increase health profession students’ knowledge and experience with rural and/or underserved urban populations

Healthy Together, the HERC grant, focuses on heart disease and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in the Far West of Maryland. Supported by the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission. The views presented here are those of the grantee organization and not necessarily those of the Commission, its Executive Director, or its staff. True You Maryland, a collaboration with Healthy Teen Network, aims to prevent teen pregnancy in rural communities and bringing inclusive and comprehensive sex education to these areas. Additionally, AHEC West provides oral and behavioral health services through Community Health Workers (CHWs), trains CHWs and addresses unmet healthcare needs through collaborations and other cooperative efforts.

Join Planet Smilez at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in Baltimore on November 15 for the Discovering Den...
11/07/2025

Join Planet Smilez at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in Baltimore on November 15 for the Discovering Dentistry Symposium! This day-long, no-cost event gives middle and high school students a hands-on look at all the possibilities of dentistry. Register today!

11/05/2025
📣 Maryland Dental Action Coalition’s 2025 Oral Health Summit is almost here! Join the MDAC, oral health professionals, a...
11/04/2025

📣 Maryland Dental Action Coalition’s 2025 Oral Health Summit is almost here!

Join the MDAC, oral health professionals, advocates, policymakers, and community leaders for an all-day oral health summit. We will be discussing:

✅ Medicaid coverage and access to oral health care
✅ Workforce solutions to respond to dental hygienist shortage
✅ School-based care to improve children’s oral health
✅ The future of fluoridation

Additionally, we will bestow the inaugural Senator Benjamin L. Cardin Oral Health Advocacy Lifetime Achievement Award to Senator Cardin.

Register at https://bit.ly/4q2kNmS for event on Monday, November 17, 2025! The MDAC Oral Health Summit program has been approved for 4 CEUs from the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners.

Pathways to Bright Futures is here to help cultivate the next generation of dental professionals. Learn more about how P...
11/04/2025

Pathways to Bright Futures is here to help cultivate the next generation of dental professionals. Learn more about how PBF can get you on track to a dental career.

Are you a dental professions student planning to practice in Western Maryland, Baltimore City, or the Eastern Shore? App...
11/03/2025

Are you a dental professions student planning to practice in Western Maryland, Baltimore City, or the Eastern Shore? Apply by Jan. 30, 2026, for a Pathways to Bright Futures Academic Award!

In these uncertain times, a warm meal is both a necessity and a comfort. Join the Healthy Together team this Tuesday in ...
11/02/2025

In these uncertain times, a warm meal is both a necessity and a comfort. Join the Healthy Together team this Tuesday in downtown Cumberland at The Possibility Shop for a free, hot, freshly cooked meal. Everyone is welcome! Stop by, enjoy the food, and talk to our friendly, caring staff to connect with the resources you may need. We hope to see you there!

10/30/2025

IMPORTANT NOTICE: An updated list of food pantries and giveaways in our region. Please share with those facing food insecurity. Thank you.

Address

39 Baltimore Street
Cumberland, MD
21502

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

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Our Story

Maryland Area Health Education Center West, also known as "AHEC West," is a rural, community-based organization serving Appalachian counties in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. To fulfill our mission to improve access to and promote quality in health care through education and collaboration, we partner with local, state, federal, and private organizations working toward mutual goals of a fair national distribution of health professionals and the elimination of health disparities due to rurality, poverty, race, and culture.

Programs 1. Clinical Education provides clinical rotations for health professions students to experience health care in a rural setting and to encourage them to practice in an under-served area. 2. Continuing Education Courses and Training Programs provide health professionals in the AHEC West service area with vital licensing and other educational opportunities. 3. Exploring Careers in Health Occupations (ECHO) is an AHEC West summer residential program designed to recruit tomorrow's health professionals today, and in an era of health professional shortages, to “grow our own.” ECHO provides high school students with educational support and job training skills to nurture an interest in health careers. 4. Mountain Health Alliance (MHA) is a Network of public health care agencies, hospitals, and community organizations that works to broaden access to health care, especially for low income and/or uninsured, under-served adults. MHA serves a three state, five county region that includes Allegany, Garrett, and western Washington County, Maryland; Bedford County, Pennsylvania; and Mineral County, West Virginia. 5. NAO HPV Prevention Project: Beginning her fourth year in a national effort to raise HPV immunization rates through provider education, Joy Taylor of AHEC West is one of four Project Specialists overseeing the nationwide campaign being coordinated by the National AHEC Organization (NAO). 6. Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program (GGEAR) is a collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore on continuing education for health professionals and caregivers providing services to older adults and interdisciplinary geriatric team training (GAIT) for University of Maryland System health professions students.

7. Geriatric Assessment Interdisciplinary Team (GAIT) is an inter-professional geriatrics training program for University System of Maryland students. 8. Stretching To EmPower (STEP): The STEP program is one of 16 community initiatives nationwide approved in July, 2017 by the federal Office on Women's Health (OWH) to reduce opioid misuse among women. Offered at three public housing sites in Allegany County, Md., STEP educates, motivates and strengthens women, arming them intellectually, psychologically and physically against the risks and ravages of opioid misuse. 9. Health Right: Formerly an independent non-profit and now a program of AHEC West, Health Right provides emergency dental care to low-income, under-insured residents of Western Maryland and the surrounding region.