Program Overview
Founded in 1978 to increase the racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity of Boston’s health-care workforce, BAHEC is a program of the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) and is part of a nationwide consortium of Area Health Education Centers whose statewide office is located at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. Through its Youth to Health Careers (Y2HC) programs, BAHEC provides academic enrichment, job shadowing opportunities with health professionals, leadership training, and college preparation for middle and high school students in and after school and during the summer. For adult, multilingual learners, BAHEC also offers basic Medical Interpreter Training courses. BAHEC is physically located on the Boston Medical Center campus.
Program Goals
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1) Increase the racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity of Boston’s health-care workforce.
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2) Reduce ethnic, racial, health and educational disparities.
Objectives:
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1. Provide health and health career education to young people, ages 12-18
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2. Help young people to successfully transition into college.
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3. Increase the linguistic capacity of bilingual individuals of Boston’s health care workforce through medical interpreter training.
We have four different programs:
1. If you're in the 8th grade, consider enrolling in our Introduction to Community Health and Health Careers which is offered in selected middle schools throughout Boston. For more information call 617-534-5258.
2. Looking for something to do this summer? Our Youth to Health Careers (Y2HC) Summer Enrichment Program is a 7-week intensive program for middle school and high school students. Please 
click here to download a summer application.
3. The Youth to Health Careers (Y2HC) Afterschool Program offers a combination of practical internships and projects, academic clubs, lifeskills coaching, academic coaching, college preparation workshops and technology access.
4. The teens responsible for the direction of the program belong to the BAHEC Youth Advisory Board (YAB). YAB is composed of a diverse group of 16 Boston high school students who provide the youth leadership and advise the Commission on issues and concerns related to youth health. It offers students a specific forum for participation and advocacy at both programmatic and organizational levels, and brings them together with members of BAHEC’s Adult Advisory Board for mentoring and skills-development opportunities. Members of the Youth Advisory Board work on a wide variety of planning, research, curriculum development, and outreach activities.
For more information on our programs and products, please call (617) 534-5258 or email us at BAHEC@bphc.org. We look forward to hearing from you!