About the NAHEC

The National Association of Health Education Centers (NAHEC) is the formal network of nonprofit health education centers (HECs) and other organizations that support children’s health education and provide products and services to HECs. NAHEC member centers reached more than 3 million children, teachers and parents in 2003. HECs use life-size exhibits, advanced audio-visual technology and specialized interactive instructional techniques not generally found in conventional classrooms to enliven children’s health education experience.

The health education curriculum is designed to support school-mandated areas of study. With programs like “Blood & Guts,” Hummer SUVs outfitted with removable organs, and playgrounds modeled after anatomy parts, it’s obvious to HEC visitors why former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., proclaimed that health education centers “put pizzazz in prevention.”

Julian T. Peebles, president of the RLHEC, says, “The Ruth Lilly Health Education Center continues to play a significant role as a member of the National Association of Health Education Centers (NAHEC). Under the capable leadership of Executive Director David Midland, the NAHEC has achieved wide recognition and acceptance in its mission of promoting the development of health education centers across the country, and in its ambition of providing access to these wonderful facilities to all of our nation’s children. The collaborations now underway among RLHEC, NAHEC and our sister NAHEC members are truly advancing the cause of health education across America.”

The RLHEC's proud membership in the NAHEC shows in our active participation. Diana Ruschhaupt, RLHEC’s director of programs, serves on the NAHEC Awards Committee, Curriculum Committee and Executive Committee and chairs the Research and Evaluation Committee. Verlyn Wilson, RLHEC’s technology director, serves on the Technology Committee.

For more information about the NAHEC, visit nahec.org.