On May 15–16, nearly 200 healthcare professionals, advocates, and caregivers gathered at Appalachian State University for the 2025 Aging Well Conference—a two-day event dedicated to improving the quality of care for older adults. Now in its second year, this interprofessional and collaborative conference was hosted by Northwest AHEC and the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness.

This year’s event featured expert-led sessions covering a wide range of critical topics, including healthy aging strategies, cognitive health, dementia care, medication optimization, mobility and fall prevention, and patient-centered decision-making. Breakout workshops allowed for deeper discussion and hands-on learning, while also fostering networking across disciplines.

An interprofessional lineup of speakers created a dynamic learning environment where attendees could share insights, discuss real-world challenges, and explore innovative approaches to aging care. The timing of the conference aligned perfectly with Older Americans Month, making it all the more meaningful as we celebrated and empowered the older adults in our communities.

We’re grateful to everyone who joined us to learn, connect, and grow. The feedback we received was incredibly encouraging:

“This is one of the greatest conferences I have ever attended and I can’t wait to attend next year!”

“After attending last year, I knew I needed to bring my friends. My friends came with me this year and it has been so great. We can’t wait to come again next year!”

Mark your calendars—Aging Well 2026 is already in the works! Stay tuned for details as we continue to grow this powerful event focused on healthy aging and collaborative care.

In this episode of the Healthcare Insights podcast, you will hear the ground level experiences of two wonderful humans working directly with the unsheltered in Burke County, NC. Alice Horton, Director of the Burke United Christian Ministries and Karen Russell, Director of the HOPE Center share their stories of outreach and the importance of meeting people where they are.

When disaster strikes communities close to us, human service professionals often feel a familiar calling for a meaningful way to utilize their mental health skills in a challenging and rewarding manner that makes a real difference.

This training will prepare licensed mental health professionals for volunteer or paid roles in disaster response, contributing significantly to the psychological recovery of both disaster survivors and disaster workers. Having more mental health professionals trained and ready to respond in times of a disaster will be an invaluable asset to the people of our state, nation, and world.

Developed for licensed mental health professionals who are assumed to have a base of clinical knowledge, this training will give participants familiarity with characteristics, stages, and responses to disaster. Basic intervention strategies, including psychological first aid and empowerment of coping skills will be presented, along with the important topics of self-care and ethical issues in disaster response.

Orientation to Disaster Mental Health Intervention

Live Webinar / June 7, 2025 9 AM - 11 AM

Check out all the details and register now to reserve your spot.

Join us virtually on August 13th to explore the latest developments in sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Registration Open!

2025 NC Annual STI Update
Live Webinar - August 13th 8:00AM - 4:00PM

Topics (subject to change):

• Let’s Talk About Sexual Health: Taking a History and Introducing Shared Decision Models Into Practice
• Sexual Health in Aging People
• Best Practices in STI Prevention Vaccination
• Leveraging Point of Care Diagnostics to Address STI Syndemics
• A Practical Guide to Implementing DoxyPEP
• Updates for North Carolina Providers: What’s New From the NC SLPH, the Role of NC DIS Teams in STI/HIV Case Investigation and Response, Complex Cases in STI Management

Get registered today

Northwest AHEC is planning a knowledge-based 2025 Licensed Practical Nurse Symposium for October 10, 2025—and we want your input! This event will equip LPNs across various practice settings with strategies and insights to strengthen their vital role on the health care team.

Thank you, Nurses!
If you’re a nurse, we want to take a moment to say THANK YOU. We see your commitment, compassion, and resilience—and we appreciate everything you do to care for others, often in challenging circumstances.

National Nurses Week takes place May 6–12, 2025, and it's a time to honor the vital contributions of nurses. Whether you're a nurse, healthcare professional, patient, or someone who simply recognizes the critical role nurses play in our lives and communities, this is the perfect time to show your gratitude.

Northwest AHEC Appreciation Giveaway 🎉

As a token of our appreciation, sign up for our Nursing Continuing Education email list and you’ll be entered to win a Northwest AHEC Swag Bag filled with goodies!
Want an extra entry? Find our Nurses Week post on social media and share it!
📅 Winner will be announced Friday, May 9th.

How Northwest AHEC Supports Nurses

The Northwest Area Health Education Center (Northwest AHEC) of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides education and training to support a strong, skilled healthcare workforce—especially in rural and underserved communities across our 17-county region in Northwest North Carolina.

Whether you’re just exploring nursing as a career, actively practicing, or returning to the field, we’re here to support you at every step.

Here’s How We Empower Nurses:

• Continuing Professional Development – We offer high-quality programs—available in-person, via live webinars, or on-demand—for nurses seeking contact hour for license renewal. Many are low-cost or even free!
  Featured Courses:
  • The High Risk Newborn: Sharing the Care – live webinar 5/14/25
  • 2025 Aging Well Conference – Boone, NC 5/15/25
  • Clinical Instructor Partner Course – blended learning begins 9/03/25
  • After Discharge: Maternal and Infant Assessment in the Home – live webinar 9/9/25
  • Iredell Health System 7th Cardiovascular Conference – Statesville, NC 9/17/25
  • Basic Fetal Monitoring – Winston-Salem, NC 10/1/25
  • 43rd Annual Perinatal Conference: Gravidas at Risk – Hickory, NC 11/5 and 11/6/25
  • 27th Annual Diabetes Management Conference – Winston-Salem, NC 11/14/2025 Registration opening soon!
  • Rural Health Nursing Conference – live webinar 11/14/25 Registration opening soon!  
  • 22nd Annual NC AHEC Academic Progression Conference 2/26/26 - Get $25 During Nurses Week!
  • Nurturing the Nurturers – Winston-Salem, NC 3/20/26 Registration opening soon!
  • Double Trouble: Diabetes and Falls – free online learning
  • Screening and Intervening for Unmet Social Needs – free online learning  
  • Safe or Silent? – free online learning
  • Falls: Screening, Risk Assessment and Care Planning for Older Patients in the Community – free online learning
  • Nurse Educator Institute – online learning
  • Sweet Success: A Deeper Look at Diabetes in Primary Care - two part online modules coming soon
    
    
• Health Careers/Workforce Development – We provide programs for high school and college students interested in exploring nursing and other health careers. Read More
  
  
• NC AHEC RN Refresher Program - Assists registered nurses with lapsed or inactive licenses, as well as active RNs seeking to update their knowledge and skills, in returning to the nursing profession. Read More
  
  
• Northwest AHEC Consortium for Clinical Education and Practice (CCEP) - We bring together clinical and educational partners to collaborate and improve clinical education opportunities for Nursing and Allied Health programs. Read More

To all nurses—we see you, we support you, and we thank you.
Let us know how Northwest AHEC can continue to empower you in your journey.

A Special Thank You to Our Northwest AHEC Nursing Staff

HUGE shoutout and THANK YOU to our brilliant nurses on staff here at Northwest AHEC. Your dedication, expertise, and passion make a difference—not just in our department, but across the entire region. We are so grateful for the work you do to support and strengthen the nursing profession.

• Stephanie Poindexter, MSN, RN – Nurse Educator
• Ellen Zimmerman, MSN, RN, CHSE – Nurse Educator / RN Refresher Coordinator
• Alana Dodson, MBA, RN – Nurse Educator
• Leslie D. McDowell, DNP, ANP-BC, RN – Quality Improvement Specialist / QI Curriculum Coordinator

Thank you for being leaders, mentors, and advocates. We appreciate you!

On April 14, the sky wasn’t the limit — it was just the beginning — for A’nya Buckner, a senior pre-med student at Winston-Salem State University and one of our outstanding Northwest AHEC Scholars. While she stood on the ground in Van Horn, Texas, watching history unfold, her research was quite literally soaring into space.

Buckner was one of three WSSU students selected to participate in Blue Origin’s historic all-female space mission, where their research project, involving plant biology, was included on board. As a member of our AHEC Scholars Cohort 5, Buckner has demonstrated a strong commitment to hands-on learning, community service, and interprofessional education — values that are deeply woven into this unique opportunity.

“This experience means everything to me,” Buckner shared. “I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned from my labs and lectures to real-world research — and seeing our seedlings in space.”

For Buckner, who aspires to become an emergency room physician or anesthesiologist, this experience bridges her academic journey with a powerful glimpse into what’s possible through collaboration, innovation, and scientific exploration.

The project was part of a collaboration between WSSU and Blue Origin’s nonprofit, Club for the Future, which aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers. It’s an incredible milestone — not only for the students and faculty involved, but for women in STEM and future healthcare leaders everywhere.

We’re proud to support scholars like A’nya Buckner, who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in science and medicine — even if that means launching it into orbit.

To learn more about our AHEC Scholars program and how we prepare students for impactful careers in healthcare, visit our website: https://go.northwestahec.wakehealth.edu/scholars

Read WSSU Article

Today, the Northwest AHEC team came together for a meaningful tradition—the 5th Annual Walk in Memory of Roderica “Nicole” McLaurin, held in support of the March for Babies/March of Dimes. We gathered at the beautiful new J. Dudley Watts Jr. Belews Lake Park, enjoying a lovely day to connect with colleagues, friends, and family as we walked in Nicole’s honor.

This two-day course provides adult critical care nurses (CCRN) and adult progressive care nurses (PCCN) a review of AACN’s core content. The course combines central knowledge-based lectures on all testable content according to the AACN exam blueprint for CCRN and PCCN certification exams, plus a substantial amount of CCRN Exam-style multiple choice questions as well. This review is not an introduction to the environment of the ICU or PCU, but a comprehensive update for the professional already in practice at the bedside and preparing for either or both of the certification examinations. Reserve your spot today!

The goal of this program is to provide nurses and other interested healthcare professionals with the based knowledge and tools to assist them in providing high quality and comprehensive care related to Critical Care management.

Adult Critical Care (CCRN) & Progressive Care (PCCN) Nursing Certification Course
REGISTRATION OPEN

June 5-6, 2025 from 8AM - 5:15PM
LIVE WEBINAR

Credit
16.0 Nursing Contact Hours
Southern Regional Area Health Education Center is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the North Carolina Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the 
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

About the Speaker

Lisa M. Soltis, MSN, APRN, RN-BC, PCCN, CCRN-CSC-CMC, CCNS, FCNS, FCCM

Lisa brings over 29 years of critical care experience to her lectures. She has earned her BA from Western Michigan University, her BSN from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, and her MSN from Duke University School of Nursing as an Adult Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist. She is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine where she a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Her experience includes Trauma/Surgical Critical Care and over 25 years of Cardio-Thoracic Critical Care.

She currently works as a Senior Clinical Support Specialist with Fresenius Medical Care, Heart & Lung Therapies providing training and education regarding ECMO therapy across the country. She also lectures on various topics related to critical care, including several certification review courses. Lisa also provides legal services as an expert witness and legal nurse consultant for both nursing and advanced practice nursing cases.

This course is jointly provided by South Piedmont AHEC, Northwest AHEC and Southern Regional AHEC.