PLEASE NOTE: Greensboro AHEC is now known as Piedmont AHEC. The organization’s name changed on February 1, 2023.

Charlotte AHEC is now known as South Piedmont AHEC. The organization’s name changed on June 5, 2023.

Many of our followers and colleagues have asked how the AHEC regions are doing in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. Below is an update from each AHEC, starting with the eastern side of the state, the area hit the hardest. We will keep you updated when we have more information.

South East AHEC

SEAHEC’s offices remain closed and staff are not yet sure when they will resume normal operations. New Hanover Regional Medical Center/SEAHEC’s internal medicine residency office, ob/gyn residency office, library, study area and meeting space, computer lab, and residency lab were all completely flooded. SEAHEC staff have been jumping in to help NHRMC with staffing needs as they try to relieve their storm teams and start to open services again.

Eastern AHEC

The Eastern AHEC building in Greenville and the Elizabeth City Office were both fortunate to be spared damage. After being closed in preparation for the storm on Thursday and Friday, September 13-14, we returned to normal operations on Monday, September 17.

Some of Eastern AHEC’s CPD (continuing professional development) programs set for the week of September 17-21 have been canceled, postponed, or moved. If you have any questions or changes on your registration status, please call Eastern AHEC’s main number at 252-744-5221 and you will be directed to their help desk. If call volume is high and you are prompted to leave a message, it will be returned in one business day. You can also contact the individual listed in your program brochure. We recognize that this is a difficult time for everyone and we are happy to assist you in any way we can. We thank all healthcare professionals and volunteers caring for eastern North Carolina during Hurricane Florence. Your work is vital to our region’s recovery and we are here to support you.

Below are some specific program announcements. Please check the Eastern AHEC catalog for further program updates: www.easternahec.net/courses-and-events. You can also follow Eastern AHEC on social media for real-time updates at Facebook.com/EasternAHEC and Twitter.com/EasternAHEC.

• Our Military Women’s Health Symposium, originally scheduled for September 19 in Greenville, is being rescheduled with a new date to be determined. We are currently not accepting new registrations at this time but past registrations are still on file. We plan to reopen registration if we can set a new date soon. We will notify registrants once a new date is set along with instructions on what to do if you cannot attend on the new date.
• The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) program originally scheduled for September 18-19 in Greenville was canceled. The October 11-12 ELNEC program originally to be held in Kinston has been moved to Greenville on the same dates. Those registered for the September event are invited to attend the October event; you will not need to re-register, but please contact us so we can transfer you. If you cannot attend in October, let us know and we can issue you a credit. We are also still accepting new registrations for the October event, although space is limited.
• The Celebration of Rural Nursing program on November 30 in New Bern has been moved to the Eastern AHEC building Greenville. Registration is open.
• The Clinical Skills Update for Nurses program originally scheduled for September 15 will now be October 13. This program is currently full
• The Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Training originally scheduled for September 13-14 is now October 8-9. Registration is open.   

Southern Regional AHEC

SR-AHEC was closed Thursday, Friday, and Monday. They had a few class cancellations, but they have already been rescheduled and are back up and running. There is still some flooding and road damage in the area, so residents are having to do some creative navigating sometimes to get around town, but the roadwork is being completed quickly and the rivers have started to recede.

Area L, Wake, Greensboro, Northwest, Charlotte, and Mountain AHECs

All is well in these regions. Several Wake AHEC programs had to be rescheduled but they are back to business as usual. Greensboro AHEC had to cancel one program, which will be rescheduled later this year. Charlotte AHEC is functioning on a regular schedule. MAHEC’s only impact was with program cancellations, mainly because of airport closures affecting out-of-town speakers. MAHEC also had to cancel a conference in which they were partnering with the Department of Health and Human Services, who are being deployed to the Eastern part of the state.

NC AHEC Program Office and Duke AHEC Program

The NC AHEC Program Office on UNC Campus had some minor water leaks, and Chapel Hill saw some flash flooding early Monday morning. Duke AHEC saw flooded streets in various areas of Durham with Monday being the worst day with two tornado warnings.