For more information about Practice Entry and Support, contact:
Amanda Thomas
Program Coordinator
1722 Colcord Ave.
Waco, Texas 76707
Phone: (254) 753-4392 ext. 12
Sample Activities
Assisting practicing healthcare professionals in obtaining continuing education
Supporting National Health Service Corps participants
Convening collaborations of nursing recruiters and administrators
Providing information resources to practicing health professionals
Organizing and coordinating large multidisciplinary conferences
Assisting communities in recruitment and retention efforts
Implementing support programs for nurses
Practice Entry and Support
About Practice Entry and Support
The goal of Brazos AHEC Practice Entry and Support is to establish and maintain programs that recruit and retain health professionals for underserved populations throughout Central Texas. Brazos AHEC is committed to providing learning resources for various levels of health professionals, developing programming that is responsive to the continuing education needs of practicing health professionals in the area, and increasing retention of health care professionals in the area by enriching practice environments and improving professional achievement satisfaction levels.
Practice Entry and Support Programs
East Texas Geriatric Education Center
The East Texas Geriatric Education Center (ETGEC) was established in 2003 by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. As part of the Sealy Center on Aging, the mission of the ETGEC is to provide educational opportunities and continuing education in geriatrics to clinical health professionals and faculty who teach in health professions programs, and to students in health professions in East Texas. Through partnerships with the East Texas Area Health Education Centers and affiliation institutions throughout East Texas, the ETGEC attempts to enhance the level and availability of geriatric education and training with the overall goal of providing a positive impact on the health of older adults through out East Texas
The Nurse-Friendly Program for small/rural hospitals is a grant initiative to enhance patient care and retention of nurses in small and rural Texas hospitals. The project goal is to assist client hospitals in incorporating all 12 Nurse-Friendly Hospital criteria into their policies and procedures and in preparing their application for designation as a “Nurse-FriendlyÔ Hospital” by the Texas Nurses Association. The program is estimated to impact 1,400 registered nurses and their 97,500 patients.
Texas Health Match is a statewide collaborative effort, between the Texas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) (East Texas AHEC, West Texas AHEC, South Texas AHEC), Texas Department of State Health Services, and the Office of Rural Community Affairs to assist rural and medically underserved communities recruit and retain healthcare providers, healthcare related professionals, and health industry skilled workers. Texas Health Match offers both jobseeker to employer self matching and free technical assistance from recruitment and retention staff to assist in the process, from online assistance with profiles to face to face community development.