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Youngstown, OH…The Eastern Ohio Area Health Education Center (AHEC) announces that Chelsey Palmer, a school nurse from the McDonald, OH School System and active board member, was one of two candidates chosen in a national search to participate in the recent Washington, DC. Fly-in July 21 through 23, 2024. Seventeen people applied for the two available positions.

Palmer, an RN, BSN, and LSN from Niles, was chosen because of her experiences supporting Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) as well as her interest in public policy and advocacy at a national level. 

Palmer began her AHEC journey with the Eastern Ohio AHEC Scholars program as a ����Թ� at Trumbull Nursing Student and earned Eastern Ohio AHEC Scholar of the Year in 2021. After completing the Scholars program, she returned to Eastern Ohio AHEC as a mentor, joined the Board of Directors in 2022, and was elected Vice President in 2023.
Currently a registered nurse and licensed school nurse in the McDonald local school district, she has worked to increase health literacy within her school community through education and the provision of resources. At McDonald, she coordinated the first health and wellness fair in the community. She also partnered with Vision to Learn to supply free eye exams and prescription eyeglasses to her students, and worked with ONE Health Ohio’s mobile clinic to provide dental care for students within the school setting.

“This opportunity will help me better serve my community as I continue to fight alongside my colleagues and NAO for lasting resolutions to healthcare inequities and disparities, particularly those that exist in rural and underserved populations,” Palmer said.

With advocacy training, she hopes to continue to educate those around her on healthcare disparities and inequities and work towards finding long-term solutions for systemic problems.

During the Fly-In, the National AHEC delegation scheduled meetings with senate and congressional representatives as well as with the Health Resources and Services Administration, the federal funder of the Area Health Education Centers.

Palmer highlighted how AHECs nationwide can enhance advocacy efforts to foster stronger, lasting connections between legislators and their AHECs and Scholars. She said, “Our Scholars, both current students and those who have completed the program, are a true testament to the success of the program. Amplifying their voices on a larger platform will only confirm that the AHEC Scholars program accomplishes incredible things across the country and is building a stronger and better equipped healthcare workforce that is ready to serve in all communities.”

Palmer noted that the experience excited her about public and healthcare policy and demonstrated that professionals in her position can help establish meaningful change by becoming active in the legislative process.

“I hope to be advocating on a larger scale and would love to become more active in the national organization. AHEC, especially the Scholars Program, has had such a profound impact on how I approach each day as a healthcare professional. I am excited to look toward the future because I know this is just the beginning,” she said.

(Pictured, left-right) NAO CEO Dwain Harris; Chelsey Palmer, RN, BSN, LSN; Dr. Julie Bazan, NAO president and director of the Mid-Rio Grande Border AHEC; Medical Student Mike Anderson

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����Թ� Area Health Education Centers
Congress established the AHEC program in 1971 to strengthen and diversify the healthcare workforce in rural and medically underserved communities. Today, the 300 AHECs in the United States serve 44 states and six U.S. territories. Eastern Ohio AHEC, a nonprofit 501c3 is generously housed in the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services at Youngstown State University and works with colleges and universities in the four-county region of Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana. Federal funding that supports national AHECs is tied to relationships with medical schools and
Eastern Ohio is one of four centers in Northeast Ohio funded through the Northeast Ohio University of Medicine (NEOMED) in Rootstown, Ohio.

To learn more about Area Health Educations Centers, visit their website: , or the NEOMED website:

The AHEC program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of an award totaling $1,185,928 with 50% percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.” For more information, visit, HRSA.gov.

Visit nationalahec.org or email info@nationalahec.org to learn more about AHEC