We would invite you to review the job postings, if have the experience needed - you would be a great addition to our team! The Northwest Area Health Education Center of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides and supports educational activities and services with a focus on primary care in rural communities and those with less access to resources to recruit, train and retain the workforce needed to create a healthy North Carolina.

• Quality Improvement Specialist - Performs tasks key to the clinical transformation. Performs quality improvement efforts to improve quality of care, reduce cost of care, enhance patient experience of care and improve provider satisfaction. Responsible for designing a data-driven, strategic approach to continuous quality improvement (CQI) based on identification of gaps in care, perceived ability to measurably improve with resources available, potential to impact multiple settings/ease of replication or spread. 
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On April 8, 2025, an Interprofessional Education (IPE) event brought together a diverse cohort of over 320 students from multiple institutions and healthcare disciplines. This collaborative experience centered around a simulated patient case, designed to foster interprofessional communication, critical thinking, and team-based problem-solving within a realistic clinical scenario. The event is put on in collaboration with Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Winston-Salem State University.

Participants represented a broad spectrum of healthcare education programs, including students from Winston-Salem State University’s Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Nursing, Healthcare Management, Therapeutic Recreation, Rehabilitation Counseling/Services, Social Work, and Clinical Laboratory Science departments. The event also welcomed students from Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Studies program and Forsyth Technical Community College’s Nursing program.

Post-event evaluations are currently under review. The review process aims to identify key strengths—such as team engagement, communication effectiveness, and scenario realism—as well as areas for improvement to further enhance future iterations of the event.

This initiative not only highlights the value of interprofessional education but also reinforces the importance of preparing future healthcare professionals to work in diverse, team-based environments. As we analyze outcomes, we remain committed to refining this collaborative model. The continued success of this event underscores its potential to shape more cohesive healthcare teams and ultimately improve health outcomes for the communities we serve.

We look forward to the continued evolution of this initiative and the positive impact it will have on the development of competent, compassionate, and collaborative healthcare professionals.

We’re excited to announce that registration is now open for the highly anticipated Winston-Salem Dance Medicine Conference (WiSDM 2025)! Whether you’re a healthcare provider, dancer, instructor, or student, this one-day conference offers a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of the specialized field of dance medicine.

🗓 Friday, September 19, 2025 | 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
📍 Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education, 475 Vine St., Winston-Salem, NC
🎟 Live In-Person Only

👉 Click here to register and learn more

WiSDM 2025 brings together a diverse group of professionals and performers for a multidisciplinary deep dive into the fundamentals of dance medicine. Topics will include:

• Unique biomechanical demands of dance
• Genre-specific injury risks and prevention
• Psychological and social influences on performance
• Evidence-based approaches to care for dancers

This presentation will provide an in-depth update on the evolving landscape of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, focusing on the latest modalities and their clinical applications.

Additionally, the session will explore the nuanced features. Designed for respiratory therapists and other clinicians involved in advanced bronchoscopy, this update will highlight how robotic-assisted techniques are transforming pulmonary diagnostics and intervention, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

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

Live Webinar

August 28, 2025 12 PM - 1:30 PM

• Explain the fundamentals of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy.
• Identify different modalities of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy.
• Discuss the impact on patient outcomes in pulmonary diagnostics and intervention.
   

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.