New Director for West Texas AHEC Named


Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Debra Flores, Ph.D., as the Director of the West Texas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program. Dr. Flores will oversee five regional offices located in Canyon (Panhandle AHEC), Plainview (Plains AHEC), Abilene (Big Country AHEC), Midland (Permian Basin AHEC), and El Paso (Desert Mountain AHEC), and a new office developing in San Angelo (Concho Valley AHEC).

“We are delighted that Dr. Debra Flores emerged as the sole finalist for this position from a national search process,” Billy Philips, Ph.D., MPH, Executive Vice President for Rural and Community Health and Director of the F. Marie Hall Institute said. “Dr. Flores is someone we have admired and worked with as we strive to improve the health of communities through workforce development and other innovations, including a greater recognition and involvement of Community Health Workers, which are vital to the transformation of health care that comes along with the Affordable Care Act. She is pioneer in that and will bring fresh energy and new ideas to our senior leadership team.”

Flores joins us from University Medical Center (UMC) Health System where she served as the program manager for the Regional Health Care Partnership program. She brings with her more than 25 years of experience and knowledge in the healthcare field. Prior to her role at UMC, she was with Covenant Health and the TTUHSC School of Nursing. Flores holds her Doctorate in education from Texas Tech University, as well as a Master of Arts in organizational management from Wayland Baptist University.

The West Texas AHEC program is state and federally funded and has four main principles - to introduce youth, K-12, to health careers; to support rural clinical training for students who are in the health professions; to provide practice support to existing healthcare professionals; and to promote healthy communities.

Flores is originally from Hale Center and resides in Lubbock with her husband. She has three daughters and five grandchildren.

For more information about West Texas AHEC, visit www.westtexasahec.org, or contact Briana Vela, communications coordinator for the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health, at briana.vela@ttuhsc.edu.

Related Stories

Willed Body Memorial Service Honors Those Who Donated

On Memorial Day each May, a service is conducted at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Institute of Anatomical Sciences to pay respect to the Willed Body Program donors and their families.

Molecular Pathology Preceptorship: Unmatched Value and Experience

Ericka Hendrix, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM, Program Director and Associate Professor in the Master of Science in Molecular Pathology program in the School of Health Professions spoke about the program’s preceptorship.

Moseley Named Permian Basin Regional Dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing

Kelly Moseley, DHSc, R.N., has been named the TTUHSC School of Nursing regional dean in the Permian Basin.

Recent Stories

Research

TTUHSC Researchers to Study Gene’s Role in Prostate Cancer Metastasis

With support from a three-year, $1.85 million grant, Srinivas Nandana, Ph.D., and co-investigator Manisha Tripathi, Ph.D., from the Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry at the TTUHSC School of Medicine will investigate the role of TBX2.

Education

TTUHSC Professor and Surgeon Receives National Award

The American Burn Association (ABA) recently presented the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to TTUHSC professor and burn surgeon John A. Griswold, M.D.

Research

TTUHSC Researcher Receives National Award

The AACR presented its Minority-Serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Award to TTUHSC Associate Professor Duke Appiah, Ph.D., MPH, at the AACR 2025 Annual Meeting in Chicago recently.