COM-FSM Is Party To A $867K To Support Health Education Programs In Micronesia

The College of Micronesia – FSM is a party to a program for the Guam/Micronesia Area Health Education Center (AHEC) which was recently funded. The partners under the program include the University of Guam (UOG), the University of Hawaii (UH), the Guam Community College (GCC), the College of Micronesia – FSM (COM-FSM), the College of the Marshall Islands (CMI), and the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association (PIHOA). The UOG has been designated as the office for the program

The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $867K in funding to UOG for the first year of a three-year grant that supports the improvement of individual and community health throughout Micronesia by recruiting and training additional health care professionals.

According to Maria Salomon Director of Nursing at the University of Gaum and Guam/Micronesia AHEC program office director, Area Health Education Centers will be established in Guam, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

The goal of the Guam/Micronesia AHEC is to improve the health of the underserved through collaborative regional training initiatives across the Micronesian region. This area has some of the highest health workforce shortage ratings, and greatest health and education disparities in the US. The Guam/Micronesian Area Health Education Center emphasizes community-based interisland training for healthcare providers and students while enhancing health career education and recruitment from elementary to community college levels. The grant objectives include:

• Improve the diversity of the health professions workforce by mentoring and providing health career activities for over 1,200 underrepresented minority students per year.
• Improve the distribution of the health care workforce in Micronesia by providing local/on-island interdisciplinary training for more than 150 students a year.
• Improve the quality and retention of the health workforce in Micronesia by providing culturally relevant continuing education to more than 780 medical providers.

According to Salomon, the program will begin with recruitment activities throughout the region at the elementary level in order to familiarize young students with health care professions. She also said the program will be created to train students based on the health care needs of each particular area served by the centers. Training and continuing education programs will include curricula for nurses, dental workers, technicians, public health professionals, and physicians, among others.

For its part, the College of Micronesia – FSM has launched its first Public Health Training Program by Fall 2009 semester and is currently developing its own nursing program to be launched when approved. Both programs are expected to receive assistance from the AHEC grant.