By 2050, the United States will be a ‘majority-minority’ country, with white non-Hispanics making up less than half of the total population. California is far ahead of the demographic curve, where the Latino population surpassed the white non-Hispanic population in 2015. Currently Latinos make-up 39% of the population, while Whites make-up 37% of the State’s population. This trend will only accelerate in the decades ahead, and by 2050 Latinos will make-up the majority of the total population of the State of California.
The state’s healthcare workforce, however, is not keeping pace with these shifting demographics. In fact, the ratio of Latino doctors in the medical workforce is actually dropping, according to multiple studies. They make up just 7 percent of physicians despite being 39 percent of the population.[1] These disparities are not unique to physicians, but hold across all health professions.
HealthPATH is one of several initiatives at Alameda Health System aimed at diversifying the healthcare workforce and ensuring that California will have a pipeline of young people of color—reflective of the state’s rapidly changing population—ready to meet the growing demand for healthcare workers. In October, HealthPATH hosted its first ever program for Spanish speaking newcomer students. Newcomer students are recent immigrants to the United States who do not have the English language proficiency to be academically successful in a mainstream school. They attend Oakland Unified School District’s Newcomer Programs, which provide English as a Second Language and other supports to help students transition to school and careers in the United States.
HealthPATH organized a panel of Spanish-speaking healthcare providers who shared their path into a healthcare career and provided advice and encouragement to the students—all in Spanish—so that they might see a future for themselves in the healthcare field. It was an inspiring event for the students, who rarely have the opportunity to interact with professionals in their native language. It was also inspiring for the panelists, who know just how important it is to have more providers like themselves who can communicate with and be culturally responsive to AHS’s Latino patients.
We have tremendous gratitude for our AHS staff who took time out of their demanding schedules to participate in this event. A big thank you to Eva Goodfriend-Reano, Certified Nurse Midwife at Highland Hospital, for providing insights and inspiration as a panelist and to Susana Flores, Manager of Non-Physician Contracts, for facilitating the panel.
[1] Appleford, Steven. “L.A.’s Medical Community Is More Diverse than Ever, but There’s a Long Way to Go.” Los Angeles Magazine, April 10, 2009. https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/doctor-diversity/