Workforce Development

Aligned with the Primary Care Research Institute’s (PCRI) mission of supporting patient and community health, PCRI’s team of researchers actively identify and develop programs that address short- and long-term needs that permeate the healthcare system.

Working with internal University at Buffalo partners, local agencies,and community organizations, PCRI is home to an evolving portfolio of workforce development opportunities that are addressing the training needs of the health system workforce —from university staff, students, and faculty to clinicians and community members. PCRI offers the expertise and training to facilitate the translation of research-informed best practices to the clinic, and supports the creation of a diverse, inclusive, and equitable health system workforce.

PCRI supports workforce development in the following ways:

working collectively to build and cultivate strategic partnerships and pipelines designed to attract and develop high-quality health system workers
offering training programs that address the needs and positively impact the health of communities
providing resources that assist in removing barriers to quality health care for the community, and that support the retention of a highly-qualified health system workforce

The New York State Area Health Education Center (NYS AHEC) System

The New York State Area Health Education Center (NYS AHEC) was founded by the UB Department of Family Medicine, and PCRI is home to the statewide office of the NYS AHEC system. NYS AHEC is a state- and federally-funded workforce development initiative designed to prepare a diverse and culturally competent primary care workforce, especially within medically underserved communities. Some initiatives currently offered through AHEC include:

the NYS AHEC Scholars Program; a two-year, interdisciplinary program with a defined set of clinical, didactic, and community-based training activities
the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, which provides training and resources to enhance rural communities’ ability to prevent and treat substance use disorders
continuing education programs, such as the Health Professions Seminar, Care Coordination Training, and the Nursing Summit

Current Research Projects

Community Health Worker Training Program (CHWTP)
3/27/24
As part of this collaborative initiative, led by Dr. Renee Cadzow of D'Youville University, PCRI's role is to create an advanced community health worker (CHW) training for workforce in research and in primary care using a participatory approach. This training will follow guidelines set forth by CoNECT: The Community Health Network of Buffalo and the Patient Voices Network.
Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program
9/27/23
This program will plan, develop and deliver trainings to health care students, residents, professionals, paraprofessionals, trainees, public safety officers and employers of such individuals throughout New York state in rural and medically underserved areas. These trainings will utilize evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies designed to reduce and address burnout, suicide, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders, as well as promote resiliency.
New York State Area Health Education Center System (AHEC)
10/17/23
The New York State Area Health Education Center (NYS AHEC) was founded by the UB Department of Family Medicine, and PCRI is home to the statewide office of the NYS AHEC system. NYS AHEC enhances access to quality health care across New York. It was created to improve health care outcomes by addressing the health workforce needs of medically disadvantaged communities and populations through partnerships between the institutions that train a diverse, culturally competent primary care workforce and the communities that need them most.
Primary Care Training and Enhancement: Training Primary Care Champions
9/27/23
This program develops and implements an advanced training program for currently-practicing primary care providers to become leaders of health care transformation and education, with a special emphasis on population health approaches to addiction medicine.
The UB Family Medicine Residency Training Program in Behavioral Health Improvement
10/26/23
This five-year program aims to create an interprofessional team to train family medicine residents in the integration of behavioral health and primary care. Our enhanced training program emphasizes the implementation of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) protocol into primary care clinical settings and expands both clinical and didactic learning experiences in behavioral health. We are preparing our residents to provide compassionate and evidence-based care to our local communities struggling with mental health and substance use in their critical role as family doctors.
UB Clinical Scholar Program in Implementation Science to Achieve Triple Aims
9/27/23
The UB Faculty Scholar Program in Implementation Science is an institutional research career development (K12) program that supports mentored research and career development for faculty scholars in dissemination and implementation (D&I) research to address the complex process of bridging research and practice in real-world settings.

Associated Faculty

Sarah Abdelsayed, MD
Assistant Professor; Fellowship Program Director of Addiction Medicine
UB Gateway Building Department of Family Medicine 77 Goodell Street, Suite 220HC Buffalo, NY 14203
Email: sabdelsa@buffalo.edu
Andrea Manyon, MD
Clinical Professor and Chair; President and CEO, UBMD Primary Care
UBMD Primary Care at Sheridan 2465 Sheridan Drive (between Parker and Colvin) Tonawanda, NY 14150
Phone: (716) 835-9800; Fax: (716) 835-9888
Email: manyon@buffalo.edu
Ranjit Singh, MB BChir, MBA
Associate Professor; Vice Chair for Research, Director, Primary Care Research Institute
UB Gateway Building Department of Family Medicine 77 Goodell Street, Suite 220L Buffalo, NY 14203
Phone: (716) 816-7275; Fax: (716) 845-6899
Email: rs10@buffalo.edu
Laurene Tumiel Berhalter, PhD
Director of Community Translational Research
UB Downtown Gateway Department of Family Medicine 77 Goodell Street, Suite 220N Buffalo, NY 14203
Phone: 716-816-7278; Fax: 716-845-6899
Email: tumiel@buffalo.edu
Bonnie Vest, Ph,D.
Research Associate Professor
77 Goodell Street Suite 220 Buffalo, NY 14203
Phone: 17168167287
Email: bvest@buffalo.edu