Allied Health Center of Excellence
The Allied Health Center of Excellence (AH COE) provides system coordination, coaching, and mentoring to assist in building seamless educational and work-related systems. We do this by researching, analyzing, and disseminating information related to training capacities, skill gaps, trends, emerging roles and best practices that support a sustainable workforce within the allied health sector.
The AH COE collaborates with various state and local agencies, as well as regional and national organizations to support economic vitality and competitiveness in Washington State’s Healthcare industry.
Program Highlights
WA State Allied Health/Health Science Deans and Directors Collaborative Meetings
With collaboration of a planning committee of the WA State Allied Health/Health Science Deans and Directors, the COE will schedule and host three (3) quarterly meetings. These networking meetings will focus on work activities and identify outcomes that are specifically related to identifying skill gaps, and the demand/impact on program development.
The COE will assist the Deans and Directors group with identifying key areas of common concerns and management challenges i.e. clinical placements, admission policies, faculty recruitment and program development, and will assist with developing strategies to resolve those challenges. Additionally, the COE will provide professional development to the Deans and Directors in areas of relevance and in the support of their roles as leaders in health workforce development..
Advocacy for Interprofessional Education
The COE will continue to represent the CTC system on the Yakima Valley Interprofessional Practice & Education Collaborative, an Interprofessional Education Taskforce for Central Washington education institutions, including Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, Central Washington University, Heritage University and Washington State University. The COE is also a point of contact for YVC for this initiative, communicating opportunities for involvement and participation on to college faculty and program directors.
The AH COE attended the NEXUS National Conference for Interprofessional Practice and Education, Minneapolis, MN, in August 2019 to facilitate a national level community college conversation café to promote broader awareness and participation by CTC’s at the national level and share efforts of the Washington State CTC system to develop IPE activities and demonstrate responsiveness to industry demands stemming from shifts in health care policy.
Community Based Training (CBT) Partnership with the Northwest Public Health Training Center (NWCPHP)
The AH COE became a Community Based Training partner with the NWCPHP and agreed to designate our Director to represent the organization and be the lead contact about program activities and to attend Regional Network Steering Committee meetings. The AH COE will:
Give guidance on local training and workforce needs
Strengthen faculty-student collaborative projects and field placements in public health practice
Help promote NWCPHP’s work among public health and community colleges health workforce development colleagues
Offer guidance on NWCPHP’s available and future training offerings and other learning resources
Provide feedback on evaluation activities
The AH COE will work with NWCPHP to equitably distribute funding and resources around the region.
Partnerships
The Allied Health Center of Excellence serves the entire state of Washington. We partner with these organizations and many others to support students, workers, and businesses in the allied health industry.
Area Health Education Center of Western Washington
University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies
