Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”–William Butler Yeats.

This quote captures the essence of the Eastern Oregon University (EOU) Health Speaker Series—a collaborative project that aims to do more than simply transfer knowledge; it aims to ignite students’ passions in healthcare.

Organized by NEOAHEC and the EOU Pre-Professional Health Club (PPHC), the Health Speaker Series (HSS) connects students with a variety of mentors by scheduling candid chats with health providers, graduate students, and representatives from health career programs. The presentations are held in EOU’s Huber Auditorium in La Grande once or twice per academic term, with each session featuring a different career theme, such as “Pharmacy Night,” “Physical Therapy Night,” and so on. Speakers relay their educational and career journeys, advice for students considering their career, and thoughts about why it is so valuable to practice in a rural area. Most importantly, they highlight both the positive and negative aspects of their job so students have a realistic picture of each vocation.

NEOAHEC’s team is now more dynamic than ever! In October, we were pleased to welcome Beckie Juarez and Jill Boyd to our group, who will work in tandem to enhance NEOAHEC’s support of the Northeast Oregon Campus for Rural Health (CRH)...

When people think of Northeast Oregon, they usually conjure up postcard images of mountain views, rolling farmland, tumbleweeds, and snowy winters, but there is something else the region should be known for: its abundance of some of the state’s most selfless public servants. In our 27-year history, Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center (NEOAHEC) has had the privilege of working with dozens of committed volunteers who set aside their busy schedules to grow Northeast Oregon’s healthcare workforce by serving on our Board of Directors.

Among these individuals are retiring members Barb Hosford, Don Benschoter, Bonnie Dittmann, and Bret Uptmor, who each completed the full length of their terms on the board.

August 6^th-8^th marked NEOAHEC’s Second Annual GO-Healthcare Professionals Summer Institute at Eastern Oregon University, hosted in partnership with EOU, GO-STEM, and InterMountain ESD. Despite its lengthy name, the institute’s purpose is simple: To train regional high school instructors to teach Future Health Professionals of Oregon (FHPO) curriculum in their schools. This exploratory online, dual-credit course is offered through the Eastern Promise early college program at EOU with a goal of exposing high school students to the world of possibilities in the healthcare industry.

Kyle Pfaffenbach, PhD—an assistant professor with EOU’s Physical Activity & Health Department—led the immersive three-day workshop. Dedicating the first two days to onboarding new instructors from La Grande, Joseph, Hood River, The Dalles, and Ione, he oriented them on FHPO’s curriculum and showed them the ins and outs of the intuitive online Canvas platform. On Wednesday, seven returning instructors also joined in the mix for the “All-Teacher” session. This included an overview of the latest curriculum and registration updates, along with a special networking lunch to acquaint newbies and veterans...

Guy Laliberté, one of the co-founders of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, once said, “Life is full of adventure. There's no such thing as a clear pathway.” While NEOAHEC agrees that life is (and should be) filled with adventure and discovery, we are working to prove that effective pathways can be built to aid in success—in our case, to help students move from exploration to achievement in rural healthcare...