Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) was established in 1974 to improve training and retention of healthcare professionals across Western North Carolina (WNC). We are dedicated to excellence in clinical care, health professions education, and innovative practices that can be replicated nationally.

Located in Asheville, MAHEC serves North Carolinas 16 westernmost counties. We are the largest of the nine stateAHECs thataddress national and state concerns with the supply, retention, and quality of health professionals especially in rural areas of the state.

MAHEC is also home to UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, a vibrant academic health center that includes branch campuses of the UNC School of Medicine,the UNC Adams School of Dentistry and UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, an inter-professional medical research department, and research faculty from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

MAHEC provides quality, compassionate family medicine, ob/gyn, and dental carethrough more than 170,000 annual patient visits that include WNC's newest residents, the more than 2,300 babies delivered by our ob/gyn, maternal-fetal medicine, and family medicine physicians and nurse-midwives. In addition, oursports medicine,behavioral health, pharmacotherapy, and nutrition services lend support to an advanced care team model where providers work together to support the whole person.

At MAHEC, we train physicians and dentists to provide evidence-based patient-centered healthcare. Our UNC-appointed faculty physicians and dentists are dedicated mentors, community health advocates, and compassionate physicians.

MAHECs Center for Health Professions Education provides opportunities that inspire and prepare students to pursue healthcare careers in Western North Carolina. Programs span high schoolthrough undergraduate, postgraduate, and medical school to create a pipeline of well-trained healthcare professionals for our underserved region.

MAHEC is committed to innovation in patient-centered healthcare, population health, and educational excellence. Our practice support services ensure WNC medical practices, especially those in rural areas, have the support they need to deliver high-quality care within a rapidly changing healthcare system.

The Department of Research and Library Services at UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC is WNCs leading source of rural health information and is focused on healthcare workforce development, academic medicine, clinical research, and practice transformation to improve patient, community, and population health.

The NC AHEC Program provides and supports educational activities and services with a focus on primary care in rural communities and those with less access to resources to recruit, train, and retain the workforce needed to create a healthy North Carolina. Located in Asheville, MAHEC is one of nine centers in the NC AHEC Program and serves the western part of our state.

William Hathaway, MD, has spent more than two decades working to improve health across Western North Carolina as a MAHEC board member, chief medical officer for the regions largest hospital system, a practicing cardiologist, and now as our chief executive officer. In all of these roles, Dr. Hathaways commitment to equity and improving access to healthcare has been a principle that has guided his health transformation efforts. Dr. Hathaway has championed the expansion of MAHECs graduate medical education programs and hospital-based services to ensure we are developing the healthcare workforce necessary to promote the well-being of all those living in our region including our rural and under-resourced communities.

Dr. Hathaway is keenly aware that individual and community health are influenced by an array of social, economic, and environmental factors. He has devoted much of his professional and personal time to addressing these social determinants of health by developing robust community partnerships and serving on a variety of regional boards including the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, YMCA of Western North Carolina, and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County.

A longtime supporter of MAHEC, Dr. Hathaway is proud of MHECs commitment to patient care, serving the underserved, and educating the next generation of healthcare workers. He is grateful for the opportunity to guide our not-for-profits efforts to meaningfully improve the health and wellness of all those who live and work in Western North Carolina.

Dan Frayne, MD, understands as a physician that healthcare at its best supports individuals and families from preconception through pregnancy and across the lifespan. As president of an interdisciplinary academic health center, he also understands the many systems, policies, and partnerships that are necessary to ensure equitable access to generational health. Dr. Frayne draws on both perspectives, that of a family physician and a population health innovator, to expertly guide MAHECs senior leadership team as it works to create the healthcare workforce and community partnerships necessary for all Western North Carolinians to thrive for generations to come.

Dr. Frayne brings a wealth of experience to his current role as president, including leadership at the national level in preconception and reproductive health and, here at MAHEC, in our departments of family medicine, continuing professional development, and graduate medical education.

In his own words, I believe we can only improve the health of our community by using an intergenerational lens to focus on improving population health outcomes, expanding beyond our clinics into the community, and dedicating ourselves to ending racism and creating equity for all.

Francisco Castelblanco, DNP, RN, serves as director of our Mountain AHEC and chair of the Department of Continuing Professional Development at UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC. In his role as AHEC director, he works closely with MAHECs CEO and president and the NC AHEC program office to align regional programs with statewide initiatives for maximum impact. As departmental chair, Dr. Castelblanco guides a talented team of medical faculty and program planners in the delivery of more than 1,000 educational programs for approximately 10,000 health professionals across the state each year. A cardiac nurse by training and adjunct professor for UNCs School of Nursing, Dr. Castelblanco knows how critical ongoing education is for delivering the highest quality patient care. He also understands the importance of equitable care, and he has devoted much of his career to advancing health equity through educational programming, minority youth career mentoring, and community service on boards that have included Buncombe County Health and Human Services, Asheville-Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement, Center for Diversity Education at UNC Asheville, Asheville Latin Americans for Achieving Success, Pisgah Legal Services, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, and Thrive.

Zach Levin, CPA, is a lover of information and analysis. He is a certified public account who isnt afraid to balance a budget and takes seriously his responsibility to manage MAHECs assets and obligations to deliver maximum value to our region. As MAHECs chief financial officer, Zach ensures our non-profit is fiscally responsible and fully accountable to granting agencies, funders, partners, our employees, and community members. With Zach at the helm, you can be sure that investments in MAHEC are investments in Western North Carolinas long-term health.

Felicia Hipp, MSN, RN, CNE, is a strategic thinker and problem-solver extraordinairetwo strengths that come in handy in her role as MAHECs chief of clinical operations. Felicia oversees MAHECs clinical operations and works with departmental leaders to maximize the quality of our clinical services for the benefit of patients and staff alike. She is constantly looking for innovative ways to maximize operational efficiency and patient safety by leveraging MAHECs expertise in nursing, information technology, clinical business operations, quality improvement, and practice support.

A WNC native, Felicia is passionate about MAHECs mission to improve rural health and health equity. She loves working with MAHECs talented team to improve opportunities for health for everyone who calls our mountain region home.

Beth Buys, MD, is a visionary leader and educator who is passionate about transforming obstetric and gynecologic health and, in the process, improving the health of entire families, communities, and future generations. As chair of MAHECs Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Buys leads a multidisciplinary team that includes maternal-fetal medicine specialists, ob/gyn physicians, perinatal addiction and behavioral health specialists, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, doulas, pregnancy care managers, and community partners who provide wraparound support to eliminate health inequities and address social determinants of health. Dr. Buys also works with our ob/gyn residency program and research initiatives to advance best practices and expand the rural healthcare workforce.

Dr. Buys is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and an oral board examiner with the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is also a graduate of MAHECs ob/gyn residency program. She has called Asheville home since 1999.

Stephanie Call, MD, MSPH, is a nationally recognized educator and internist. As chair of MAHECs Department of Internal Medicine and residency program, Dr. Call brings significant expertise in faculty and resident development. She consults internationally on how to enhance learner engagement through the use of milestones, educational updates, evaluation and feedback, innovative curriculum design, wellness and resilience tools, and reflective learning. Her innovative methods have earned her the Distinguished Medical Educator award from the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine and the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach award.

Dr. Call has held national leadership positions in internal medicine academic organizations and helped to develop core requirements for medical students, residents, and fellows, working in partnership with the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Call is passionate about developing well-rounded internists that are focused on serving their community as physicians, leaders, and teachers. She successfully launched MAHECs internal medicine residency program in 2021, filling all available first-year slots in the middle of a pandemic.

Blake Fagan, MD, is an innovative family physician and faculty educator who draws on both sets of skills to provide strategic leadership for MAHECs rapidly growing Department of Family Medicine. A strong proponent of evidence-based medicine, Dr. Fagan is committed to ensuring the quality and success of the departments clinical services, research and scholarly activities, and graduate medical education programs. He provides support for three family medicine residencies in Asheville, Hendersonville, and Boone, NC; a transitional year residency; and addiction medicine, sports medicine, and rural fellowships. Dr. Fagan is also board certified in addiction medicine and is a national leader in safe pain management, safe opioid prescribing, and medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. He has led workforce development initiatives to expand North Carolinas capacity to treat opioid use disorder and served as clinical consultant for the opioid crisis for the CDC Foundation in North Carolina.

Dr. Fagan is an engaging educator and seasoned professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. As a graduate of MAHECs family medicine residency program, he also serves as an inspiring mentor for our residents, fellows, and medical students.

Katherine Jowers, DDS, understands the chasm that exists between achieving oral health and the social, economic, educational, and systemic barriers that stand in the way of achieving it. As Chair of MAHECs Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, she heads clinical care and dental health profession education, as well as outreach and interprofessional initiatives that expand access to oral health education and care. She is also a UNC professor and the director of the UNC Adams Rural Oral Health and Wellness (AROW) Scholars, an innovative UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC program that provides educational and clinical care opportunities for UNC dental students who intend to establish practice in underserved NC communities.

Dr. Jowers is a Western North Carolina native, an honors graduate of the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, and a long-time advocate for oral health in our region. In her two decades in WNC, she has created nationally recognized hospital- and community-based oral health programs. She is committed to expanding MAHECs oral health initiatives in new and exciting directions.

Robyn Latessa, MD, is an innovative educator and leader, recognized internationally for her expertise in the longitudinal integrated clerkships (LIC) model of medical education that prioritizes continuity of care and relationships. As director and assistant dean of the UNC School of Medicine Asheville campus since 2012, Dr. Latessa has been a catalyst for growth, expanding the program from four students per year in 2009 to 35 students by 2021. Many of the graduates of the UNC School of Medicine Asheville branch campus have remained in our MAHEC residency programs and are practicing here in Western North Carolina. Dr. Latessa has been a family physician in Asheville since joining MAHEC in 1999 and is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill. In addition to these roles, she currently serves as interim chair of the Department of Research at UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC. She enjoys mixed-methods educational research and has published several manuscripts, many specific to LIC medical education. Dr. Latessa is passionate about collaboration, mentorship, and transparent leadership in service to MAHECs mission for training healthcare professionals for Western North Carolina.

Robyn Latessa, MD, Interim Chair for the Department of Research, UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC; Director and Assistant Dean, UNC School of Medicine Asheville; Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill

When the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) was established in Asheville in 1974, it was with a clear mandate to improve health across Western North Carolina (WNC) through innovative health education that creates a robust and well-qualified healthcare workforce. In service to this mission, MAHECs programs and services have grown significantly since then.

In 2017, we expanded a number of existing programs and launched new ones designed to transform rural healthcare across our region. These initiatives form the backbone of UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, a unique interdisciplinary collaboration with the University of North Carolina, Western Carolina University, and regional community partners.

Located on MAHECs main campus in Asheville, UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC includes the UNC School of Medicine Asheville Campus, a master of public health program led by UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and innovative educational and research collaborations with UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC is supported and informed by our Department of Research and Library Science, which focuses on rural healthcare workforce development, academic medicine, clinical research, and practice transformation to improve patient, community, and population health.

Associated programs include our new general surgery and psychiatry residency programs, family medicine residency programs in Asheville and Hendersonville, rural fellowships, clinical training for health sciences students, specialized telehealth training for rural providers, and a state-of-the-art medical simulation center.

All programs under the umbrella of UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC encourage learners to train with rural professionals, develop a deep appreciation for rural values, and contribute to improving the quality of life and health in communities across WNC.