Professional Development

Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers offers progressive professional development and training programs for:

Physicians
Physicians assistants
Dentists
Health educators
Licensed practical nurses
Laboratory technicians
Certified medical assistants
Nutritionist
Nurse practitioners
Pharmacists
Public health nurses
Registered nurses
Social workers
X-ray technicians
Mental health counselors

PRIMO

The Primary Care Resource Initiative for Missouri (PRIMO) is a pipeline for recruiting health care providers and developing systems of care. The pipeline begins at the community level, runs through the health professional schools and training institutions and ends back at the community. People’s Health Centers is a PRIMO site for service provision and placement.

To address the health problems facing residents in the St. Louis metropolitan area, People’s Health Centers has expanded its coordinated health care delivery system of primary medical, dental, mental, and support services for medically underserved and uninsured residents without access to those services. People’s Health Centers is also recruiting PRIMO Scholars to help address the most critical health issues in the community with an emphasis on eliminating health disparities as an essential activity until we have achieved the goal of primary prevention, described under the Healthy People 2010 objectives.

Training Partnerships

Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers participates in these training partnerships with local institutions:

St. Luke’s Hospital – Medical Residency Program
Forest Park Hospital – Family Practice
Barnes-Jewish Hospital – Dietitians
BJC School of Nursing
University of Missouri-St. Louis – Social Services
University of Missouri-St. Louis School of Nursing
Saint Louis University – Social Services
Washington University – Social Services

Area Health Education Centers (AHEC)

NAO (National AHEC Organization) is the national organization that supports and advances the AHEC/HETC network in improving the health of individuals and communities by transforming health care through education. AHEC’s mission is to enhance access to quality health care, particularly primary and preventive care, by improving the supply and distribution of health care professionals through community/academic educational partnerships. People’s Health Centers participates in this program with the following professional schools:

Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
University of Missouri-Kansas City Dental School