South Coastal AHEC has been instrumental in the recruitment and retention of healthcare providers in the Coastal Bend area for the last 15 years. Eighty-five percent of the students who train in South Texas stay in the area to practice. AHEC serves as the community healthcare intermediary. The Center provides coordination of health care professional students (family medicine residents, emergency medicine residents, OB/GYN residents, medical students, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nursing students, and allied health students) training in the Coastal Bend area. Providers and students who come to train in the Coastal Bend Area provide support to the indigent, uninsured, and underinsured population and serve as a resource for the rural communities with limited access to healthcare. South Coastal AHEC continues with its mission by providing continuing medical education, advanced training courses, and simulation workshops to the local healthcare providers.
South Coastal Area Health Education Center (AHEC) was established in 1996 to improve access to quality health care in South Texas through the facilitation of health professions training and education and to provide care for the medically underserved communities. South Coastal AHEC serves the following counties: Nueces, San Patricio, Jim Wells, Bee, Live Oak, McMullen.