Diversity is not just good for communities and workplaces—it can also help improve health outcomes and save lives. Healthcare workers who are sensitive to the needs and norms of their communities provide better care—and influence medical research and hospital practices more broadly.
Studies show that African American, Latinx, and Native American physicians are more likely to work in underserved communities and more likely to treat more minority patients and patients on Medicaid. And consider this: Black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes nationwide, which some suggest could be at least partly caused by institutional racism.
But what if more Black midwives were available to serve Black patients? What if more frontline healthcare workers (such as nurses and medical assistants) and policy makers (such as hospital administrators and local and state leaders) were people of color?
Our recent impact evaluation found that, after their internships, 93% of HEAL participants plan to pursue a career in healthcare. Nearly 1,000 low-income students of color have completed internships through HealthPATH so far—that’s a huge stream of potential healthcare workers who will reflect the diverse patient population of Alameda Health System, Oakland communities, and beyond.
HealthPATH is proud to contribute to a culturally competent healthcare workforce—and we’re confident that our incredible interns who go into healthcare professions will make a positive difference.
“HEAL gave me a lot of tools that not only will help me now, but in the future, because I’m able to look at what I want to do and find what it will take to get there.”
–Jennifer Fong, HEAL intern, student at Oakland Technical High School
Learn more about HealthPATH’s impact.
Sources:
healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.21.5.90
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-training-doctors-implicit-bias-could-save-lives-black-mothers-n873036