The Central Illinois Area Health Education Center (AHEC), based at Illinois State University, is providing Health Professions Student Training Awards for residents of Central Illinois. Up to 10 $500 awards will be made to residents of Christian, DeWitt, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Marshall, McLean, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Sangamon, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties in 2021.
Applicants must be a student enrolled in a health profession program and attending college (or an accredited program) in the State of Illinois in Fall 2021. A health profession is broadly defined and includes programs such as medicine, osteopathy, nursing, dentistry, dental hygiene, optometry, pharmacy, chiropractic, allied health, public health, psychology, social work, behavioral/mental health, physical and occupational therapy, and emergency medical services. Applicants should intend to work in a rural or underserved urban area.
All application materials must be received at Illinois State University by April 30, 2021. Visit www.cihealth.illinoisstate.edu and click on the Grants and Awards link for eligibility, the application, and submission address. Award recipients will be notified after June 30.
Twelve students were selected for the 2020 Health Professions Student Training Awards representing 8 of the 16 counties in the region. Awardees are pursuing degrees in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, radiology, and speech language disorders. The students and their institutions include: Emma Apicella, Libby Fisher, Cecelia Kraft, and Sarah Schug, Illinois State University; Anne Havenga, Claire Hill, and Isaac Beyer, Bradley University; Sara Mills, Lake Land College; Kara Montgomery, Millikin University; and Justin Long and Arial Trautmann, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
The Central Illinois AHEC’s goal is to improve healthcare for rural and underserved populations by promoting healthcare careers to meet workforce needs, increasing access to health professions education, and enhancing collaborative, community-based health initiatives. This work is conducted by the Illinois Area Health Education Centers Network Program and Central Illinois AHEC at Illinois State University, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and administered by the National Center for Rural Health Professions at the University of Illinois at Chicago and College of Medicine-Rockford.
