Carmen Esquivel, MHA

Infection preventionist | HealthPATH mentor

Infection preventionists play an important role in health care. We focus on preventing and controlling the spread of infections. We help reduce the risk of contagious diseases. We train health care staff to make sure that everyone is following policies and guidelines so we prevent infections from occurring.

I always knew I wanted to be in the health care field. I have five sisters and two brothers, and was raised by a single mother. She worked two to three jobs, and we hardly saw her. I remember her saying, “Go to school. Make sure that you be someone important so that you don’t have to break your back like I do every day.” So education was key.

I ended up having a mentor who works for AHS, and I connected with him. During my bachelor’s degree, I did an internship at Eastmont Wellness Center and at Highland Hospital, rotating in different departments and learning different fields.

Receiving my bachelor’s degree was a huge accomplishment. Then I received my master’s in health care administration.

HealthPATH is just a great program for students in high school and middle school to get their foot in the door, and gain so much knowledge about health care. It’s meaningful to me to work with the next generation of health care providers. I was in their shoes, and now I’m working as an infection preventionist. It’s actually nice to see that growth.