Welcome to BAHEC!
Founded in 1978, BAHEC strives to diversify the healthcare workforce in medically underserved areas. BAHEC is also part of a nationwide consortium of Area Health Education Centers; the statewide office, the MassAHEC Network, is located at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. BAHEC is located at the Miranda-Creamer Building on the Boston Medical Center campus.
Who Are We?
BAHEC's team consists of six full-time employees and a varying number of seasonal employees. The full-time staff includes:
Peter Holtgrave - Director
Marco A. Cenafils - Project Manager
Amanda Matos-Gonzalez - Education Coordinator
Geraldy St. Clair - Education Coordinator
Anthony Crosson, Jr - Education Coordinator
Roberta Washington-Smith - Office Manager
Lilia Montero - Medical Interpreter Training Coord.
Youth to Health Careers (Y2HC)
We're here to help bring Youth to Health Careers (Y2HC). Here's the idea: when you're in middle school and especially in high school, you're starting to think about what you're going to do when you get out of high school. Who do you want to be? Where do you want to go?
Well, while you're thinking about it, talk to us. We can show you what a difference you can make in the health field.
BAHEC can give you the chance to learn what it's really like to work in health care. You'll learn about things like preventive medicine and primary care, allied health, public health, and alternative medicine. And you'll meet people who are professionals in their field so you know what the career is like on a day-to-day basis.
There are so many careers to consider in health care. You could be a doctor or a nurse. But have you ever thought about being an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or paramedic, working in health care law, being an occupational therapist, a dental hygienist or an epidemiologist? How about a radiology technician, nurse’s assistant, or an outreach worker? The possibilities are endless.
BAHEC offers educational programs designed in such a way that a student can start in the 8th grade and continue through high school. Our model works because the teaching tools are designed by teens for teens.
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!
Medical Interpreting Program
Boston is home to residents with diverse cultures, backgrounds, and languages. As such, there is an increasing demand for bilingual and bicultural interpreters in the healthcare setting. Learn more.
Publications and Products
- Unnatural Causes: Youth Companion Guide
- VIBE (Violence Intervention By Educating) Documentary
- CHIP (Community Health Internship) Curriculum
- Boston Teen Health Report
- Choose Not Abuse Curriculum
- OssieMore: Disease Detective E-Learning Course
- PRIDE Theater Arts Group
- How Was I to Know: Teen Suicide PSA
- "Let's Start Talking" : STD Prevention PSA
One Paycheck Away; a photojournalism project on homelessness