Kentucky AHEC Program Receives $5 Million in State Funding

The Kentucky AHEC Program will receive $2.5 million per year in FY25 and FY26 based on a state budget recently approved by the Kentucky General Assembly.

This funding will allow the state’s eight regional centers and two program offices (at the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky) to sustain and expand the health careers promotion programming they developed after being included in the state’s FY23-24 budget. This programming has included a statewide nursing pipeline for high school and college students; enhancement of school-based presentations and longitudinal programs, including expansion into middle schools; and development of new pre-med prep programs.

“Our engagement with state legislators during the initial two years of funding paid off in a big way in the 2024 General Assembly session,” said David A. Gross, director of the Northeast Kentucky AHEC and a member of NAO’s board of directors. “I would encourage other states’ program offices and regional centers to develop relationships with their legislators in hopes of replicating the Kentucky AHEC Program’s state funding success story.”

The Kentucky AHEC Program’s engagement with state legislators included statewide and regionally focused quarterly reports with data and activities that were sent directly to each legislator; frequent visits by each regional center director with their respective representatives and senators; an AHEC Advocacy Day at the state Capitol attended by AHEC staff, community constituents, and legislators; and attendance/speaking at multiple conferences and events, including a legislative committee meeting.