Although the origins of the National AHEC Program, which began in 1972, are in physician primary care education, the program has expanded dramatically over the past 25 years.  The Berkshire AHEC, founded in 1979, is actively involved in medical education, continuing education for health & human service professionals, and community based coalitions which address the  problems of teen pregnancy, substance abuse, child abuse.

The Berkshire AHEC is part of the National AHEC Program working to improve primary care health professions education. In Massachusetts, there are six AHEC's.  The Statewide AHEC office is located at the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Office of Community Programs.  Founded in 1979 as an independent non-profit organization, the Berkshire AHEC originally focused on traditional health professions education programs.  This included support for medical education at Berkshire Medical Center and nursing education at Berkshire Community College.  By 1982, AHEC was sponsoring more than forty continuing education programs annually with over 2,500 participants.

Since the mid-1980's, AHEC has also been involved in community based planning around social, human service and public health issues.  Because of its neutrality with respect to service delivery (i.e., it is not a service provider in the traditional sense), AHEC has been able to develop and convene coalitions of professionals, agencies and consumers that work together to achieve solutions to common problems though cooperation and collaboration.

The administration office of Berkshire AHEC is located at 60 Charles Street in Pittsfield, directly across from Berkshire Medical Center.  The Charles Street location also houses the Berkshire Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.  Funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Science-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, the Berkshire Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (BCPTP) was established in 1995 in response to the growing problem of teenage pregnancy among Berkshire County youth.  Since then, the Coalition has worked to unite youth, families and community leaders in the development of local prevention strategies that promote healthy behavior, responsible decision-making and increased economic, social and educational opportunities for young people between 10 and 19 years of age.