The District of Columbia AHEC Program evolved from local concerns about the city’s disproportionate number of health professional shortage areas and future pipeline of primary care providers.  The supply, distribution, retention and quality of health professionals has long been viewed as one of the critical components of building a stable and sustainable system of primary care for the medically vulnerable.  As early as 1970, these issues were recognized at the national level in a report from the Carnegie Commission which recommended the development of a nationwide system of Area Health Education Centers.  Federal support has continued since the early 1970s and made the implementation of AHEC programs possible in many states.

The DC AHEC Program began in 1999 with one AHEC center office under a federal grant (HRSA funded) with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.  The AHEC Program office at GWU represents the interests of the partner schools (Catholic, Howard, and Georgetown Universities) in facilitating clinical placement opportunities at local safety net clinics.  In addition, the Program office

1. administers the federal grant
2. is the repository for all data that is reported to HRSA
3. monitors the objectives and deliverables that were outlined in the federal grant.

Federal guidelines require that the AHEC center office be administered through a subcontract by the host medical school (GWU).  The Center office is responsible for operationalizing the grant objectives and must be geographically distinct from the Program office.  The Center office is generally hosted by a non-profit community entity or can be established as a stand-alone non-profit community based organization.  In 1999, the AHEC Program Office Steering Committee recommended that the first DC AHEC Center office be hosted by the DC Primary Care Association under the leadership of its Executive Director, Sharon Baskerville. 

From 2005-08, the Center office was co-located at the DC Primary Care Association and closely aligned with the Medical Homes DC program.  In 2007, a Community Health Worker program was launched and has demonstrated the power of partnerships and importance of Title VII funding.  In keeping with federal program requirements and structures of other State funded AHECs, the decision to incorporate the AHEC Center as the Capital City AHEC was made in 2008.  The Center office continues to operate the “AHEC Placement Clearinghouse” with local primary care clinics.  The Center office also provides community-based education to vulnerable populations and conducts training for students and primary care providers on the care of this unique population of patients.