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 [...]
A key ingredient in any successful youth development program is the presence of reliable and caring adult mentors. I was recently reminded of this when I met with a teacher from Dewey Academy, one of Oakland’s Continuation High Schools. These schools serve high school students who have not been able to succeed in mainstream schools. [...]
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 [...]
Hui Qiao Wu is representative of many of the students who participate in HealthPATH’s Health Excellence & Academic Leadership (HEAL) internship program. Her parents immigrated to the United States from China when she was seven years old in pursuit of better opportunities for their children. They speak little English and, as their oldest child, Hui [...]
The HealthPATH program at Alameda Health System provides internships, volunteer opportunities, and other work-based learning experiences to more than 800 youth and young adults each year. With the start of the new school year, we are gearing up for our fall internship programs. In mid-September, over 80 high school students from throughout Oakland will begin [...]
When high school students enter the Health Excellence & Academic Leadership (HEAL) internship program at Alameda Health System, we ask them what health career they are interested in pursuing. Most of the time they tell us they want to be a Pediatrician or a nurse. That’s no surprise since those are the two healthcare providers [...]
I’ve written in the past about the value of mentorship, particularly for young people participating in pipeline programs like HealthPATH’s, which are focused on exposing youth to the world of work and getting them on track to finish high school and pursue a post-secondary certificate or degree. Many of the young people who participate in [...]
In my last blog post, I discussed the looming shortage of healthcare workers in California. A deeper look at the shortage reveals that it is not just about the sheer number of workers required to meet the healthcare needs of the state’s residents, but also about the composition of the healthcare workforce. By 2030, people [...]
Healthcare is a driver of California’s economy and represents 12.6% of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Employment in the healthcare sector provides jobs for 1.4 million Californians. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that employment in healthcare nationally is projected to grow 18% between 2016 and 2026, and similar increases are expected in [...]
Teaching all, part of Alameda Health System’s (AHS) mission statement was on full display this week as 44 Oakland Unified School District high school students graduated from the AHS HealthPATH program. At the graduation HealthPATH participants had a chance to share about their experience. “There wasn’t one defining moment in this program for me because [...]
