Michelle Schmude, Ed.D., named to leadership roles at Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center

Area Health Education Centers focus on community primary healthcare needs by increasing opportunities for individuals from minority and underserved communities to enter medical field

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SCRANTON, PA (06/29/2018) Michelle Schmude, Ed.D., of Mountain Top, has been named to leadership roles at both the Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and its regional site, the Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center. Dr. Schmude is associate dean for admissions, enrollment management and financial aid and an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM).

At the Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center, Dr. Schmude has been named vice president of the board of directors.The Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center is one of seven regions that fall under the Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center (AHEC). AHEC is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Pennsylvania Department Health. Its mission is to help communities meet their primary health care needs by creating infrastructure that facilitates recruitment and retention of primary care providers in underserved communities and increases the number of individuals from minority and underserved communities and populations who enter primary care and allied health professions.

For AHEC, she was appointed to the Applications/Promotions and Curriculum Development Committees of the Pennsylvania AHEC Scholars Program. The AHEC Scholars Program is an important part of increasing the number of individuals from minority and underserved communities and populations who enter the medical field. Participation in the AHEC Scholars program is open to students who are enrolled in a two-year or longer health professions program in a Pennsylvania college or university and interested in working in a rural or underserved area. Preference if given to students receiving need-based aid or coming from a medically underserved area (MUA) or coming from a disadvantaged population.

"I am honored to work toward AHEC's goal of helping Pennsylvania communities - especially the communities of northeastern Pennsylvania - meet their primary healthcare needs," Dr. Schmude said. "I also look forward to creating more opportunities for deserving students in our area and in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as a whole, achieve their dreams."

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) is a member of the Geisinger family. Geisinger Commonwealth offers a community-based model of medical education with campuses in Danville, Doylestown, Scranton, Sayre and Wilkes-Barre. Geisinger Commonwealth offers Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) degrees. The college's innovative curriculum, focused on caring for people in the context of their lives and their community, attracts the next generation of physicians and scientists from within its 17-county region in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania, as well as from across the state and the nation. Geisinger Commonwealth is committed to non-discrimination in all employment and educational opportunities. Visit www.geisinger.edu/gcsom.