We have three goals
Inspire, Enhance, & Sustain A Vibrant Healthcare Workforce in Southwest Virginia
Our Mission
The mission of the Southwest Virginia AHEC is to recruit and retain a qualified, highly skilled healthcare workforce for the 21 counties and 7 cities that comprise the region.
Housed at VCOM-Virginia in Blacksburg, the SWVA AHEC offers a variety of pipeline programs aimed at exposing high school students to a range of healthcare careers; multi-disciplinary CMEs on an array of current medical topics that foster and build a teamwork approach to treating patients in rural and underserved areas; the Virginia Scholars Program; and interdisciplinary courses for current undergraduate and graduate level healthcare students.
In addition to partnering with VCOM – Virginia, the SWVA AHEC collaborates with three other institutions of higher education in Southwest Virginia that offer healthcare professions degree programs, including three community colleges, Virginia Tech, Radford University, Henry and Lee Physical Therapy, Bluefield College, and Appalachian College of Pharmacy.
healthcare in Southwest VA
The Southwest region, including the counties of Alleghany, Bland, Botetourt, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe, and the cities of Bristol, Covington, Galax, Norton, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem, is home to hospitals, health systems, Community Health Centers (CHC), community colleges and universities that offer health professions career studies, internships, training and job opportunities.
Ms. Morrow comes to her role as Center Director for the Southwest Virginia Rural AHEC with over 10 years of grant administration and health professions coordination experience. She has overseen and participated in a variety of community outreach projects, including free health fairs, youth medical camps, and mini-medical schools with high schools. She was a former grant writer and has worked in publishing, marketing and communications at institutions of higher education.
She received an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and is working on a Master in Public Health Administration.
Louann Morrow
Director
Our Advisory Board
Jan Willcox, DO, Dean
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Lee A. Learman, MD, PhD, Dean
Virginia Tech-Carillion School of Medicine
Ted W. Hagen, DMin, PhD
Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Susan L. Mayhew, PharmD, BCNSP, FASHP
Dean of the Appalachian School of Pharmacy
David Olive, JD, President
Bluefield College
Iris Mullins, PhD, Interim Director
Radford University School of Nursing, Waldron College of Health Sciences
Jeff Aspelmeier, PhD
Department Chair, Psychology, Radford University
Eleanor Sue Cantrell, MD
Carole Pratt, DDS, Senior Advisor and Confidential Assistant for Policy
Office of the Commissioner, Virginia Department of Health
Howard Chapman, Jr., Director of Programs and Development
Tri-Area Community Health
Matthew Loos, MD, FACS, MBA, Chief Academic Officer
Ballad Health
Peter Recupero, DO, MBA, Designated Institutional Offcial
Lewis-Gale Montgomery Hospital
Wendy Welch, PhD, Executive Director
Graduate Medical Education Consortium (GMEC) of Southwest Virginia
Barry Yost, PhD
Washington County School District, Virginia
Travis Staton
CEO and President of SW Virginia United Way
Louann Morrow
Director, SWVA Rural AHEC
Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO
President of VCOM
Keisha Smith
Executive Director VHWDA/State Director, Virginia AHEC Program
