How the Vermont AHEC Network is building the pipeline – from curious students to community providers
A healthcare career rarely begins in a hospital.
More often, it starts much earlier – with a classroom visit, a summer program, a mentor who answers questions, or the moment a student realizes they might belong in a field they had never imagined for themselves.
Across Vermont, those moments of discovery are happening every day through the work of the Vermont AHEC Network.
During National AHEC Week, Area Health Education Centers across the country celebrate the role these programs play in strengthening the healthcare workforce. It’s also a time to share the impact of that work with policymakers, educators, healthcare providers, and communities.
Because building a strong healthcare workforce doesn’t happen overnight.
It takes years of investment – in students, in mentorship, in training, and in the communities that will one day rely on those professionals.
Here in Vermont, the Vermont AHEC Network – including the UVM Office of Primary Care and AHEC Program, Northern Vermont AHEC, and Southern Vermont AHEC – works every day to support that journey, helping Vermonters explore healthcare careers, pursue professional training, and ultimately serve the communities they call home.
From early career exploration to workforce recruitment and retention, AHEC programs support Vermonters at every stage of the healthcare workforce pipeline.
And the results are clear.
The Workforce Pipeline Starts Early
Healthcare workforce solutions don’t begin when someone enters medical school.
They begin when students are first introduced to the idea that a career in healthcare is possible.
Across Vermont, AHEC programs provide hands-on opportunities for students to explore health careers, understand education pathways, and connect with mentors already working in the field.
Between 2015 and 2025, Vermont AHEC early pipeline programs reached 1,192 students through 48 intensive programs, helping young Vermonters explore careers in health and medicine.
Programs like:
- Governor’s Institute on Health & Medicine
- MedQuest
- HERO Mentorship
- School and community-based health career workshops
introduce students to real healthcare environments and the professionals working in them.
For many students – particularly those from rural communities or who may be the first in their families to attend college – these programs open doors they may not have known existed.
From Possibility to Pathway
Exposure to healthcare careers is only the first step. Support and mentorship help students turn interest into action.
Among Vermont AHEC program completers expected to graduate high school by 2025:
- 90% enrolled in college within 16 months of graduation, far above national averages.
- 57% chose to attend college in Vermont, strengthening the likelihood that they will build their careers here as well.
For a rural state working to grow and retain its healthcare workforce, those outcomes matter.
Vermont’s Healthcare Pipeline – By the Numbers
- 1,192 students reached through intensive pipeline programs
- 90% enrolled in college after high school
- 57% stayed in Vermont for college
- 70% of graduates earned health-related degrees
These outcomes show how early exposure, mentorship, and hands-on experiences can shape long-term career pathways.
Expanding Opportunity for Vermont Students
AHEC programs are designed to expand opportunity – particularly for students who may face additional barriers to higher education or career exploration.
Across Vermont’s early pipeline programming, 51% of program completers who have graduated high school were identified as coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Despite the challenges many of these students face, their outcomes demonstrate the impact of sustained support and exposure to healthcare careers.
Among disadvantaged program participants, 88% enrolled in college within 16 months of high school graduation.
Long-term outcomes are equally encouraging. Among disadvantaged participants who have been out of high school for five or more years, 68% have graduated from college, and 35% have completed their degrees at Vermont colleges.
Nationally, disadvantaged students graduate from four-year institutions at significantly lower rates than their peers – about 53% compared to 73% for non-disadvantaged students, according to the Pell Institute.
The outcomes among AHEC participants show how early exposure, mentorship, and educational support can help close those gaps and create pathways into the health workforce for students across Vermont.
Training Professionals Who Serve Communities
AHEC programs continue supporting students as they move from career exploration into professional training.
Programs like:
- AHEC Scholars
- College Student Health Internship Program (CSHIP)
- UVM’s Pre-Health Enhancement Program (PEP)
provide mentorship, experiential learning opportunities, and community-based experiences that prepare students for real-world healthcare practice.
Students who complete the AHEC Scholars program are twice as likely to enter primary care residency programs, helping address some of Vermont’s most urgent workforce needs.
Across Vermont, AHEC programming has also:
- Reached 46 schools, many in rural counties
- Provided nearly 20,000 student interactions through health career programming
- Trained Vermonters in first aid, CPR, and emergency response skills
Each interaction contributes to a stronger healthcare workforce for Vermont’s future.
Strengthening Vermont’s Healthcare Workforce
Supporting students is only one part of the equation.
The Vermont AHEC Network also works to recruit, train, and retain healthcare professionals already serving communities across the state.
Through initiatives such as:
- Educational Loan Repayment
- AHEC Scholars Incentive Scholarships
- Physician Placement services
- Workforce recruitment and continuing education
AHEC helps remove barriers that often prevent healthcare providers from practicing in rural communities.
Since 1997, Vermont’s Educational Loan Repayment Program has distributed $29.5 million to healthcare providers, helping reduce student debt and support rural practice.
More than 60% of those providers remain practicing in Vermont even after their service obligation ends, strengthening the long-term stability of the healthcare workforce.
Meanwhile, AHEC’s Physician Placement Professional program has supported 62 provider placements between 2020 and 2025, many in rural communities and primary care settings.
For Vermont communities, these programs translate directly into increased access to care.
Why AHEC Week Matters
National AHEC Week is both a celebration and an opportunity to highlight the impact of workforce development programs.
Across the country, AHECs use this week to connect with policymakers and share how investments in workforce development strengthen healthcare systems.
Because investing in workforce development means:
- More students discovering healthcare careers
- More providers training to serve rural communities
- More healthcare professionals choosing to build their careers close to home
And ultimately, stronger healthcare systems for the communities that rely on them.
For Vermont, that impact is already visible – in the students exploring healthcare careers today, the future providers training in our communities, and the professionals who choose to build their careers serving the people of this state.
Looking Ahead
Workforce shortages remain one of the most pressing challenges facing healthcare today – particularly in rural states like Vermont.
But solutions begin long before someone chooses a specific role in the health workforce.
They begin when a student first sees themselves in healthcare.
When a mentor takes the time to guide them.
When communities invest in the next generation of people who will support the health and well-being of their neighbors.
That is the work of the Vermont AHEC Network.
And during AHEC Week, we celebrate the students, educators, healthcare professionals, and partners who make that work possible.
Because strengthening Vermont’s healthcare workforce isn’t a single program or initiative.