Over 500 medically-minded students woke up bright and early on
Saturday, filling Bradley International Hall beyond its capacity
for the university’s first-ever Minority Health
Conference.
The conference, “Bridging Cultures and Enhancing Minority
Health Care,” was hosted by the UCLA and USC chapters of the
Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, the Student
National Medical Association, and the Latino Medical Student
Association.
“We wanted to bring other organizations together to create
solidarity and unity among minority medical groups,” said
Kim-Lien Nguyen, co-president of UCLA APAMSA and second-year UCLA
medical student.
Health professionals and keynote speakers were invited to
discuss the challenges currently facing minority health.
“The U.S. stands alone in not having a system that
protects its citizens with universal health care,” said E.
Richard Brown, director of the Center for Health Policy and
Research and a keynote speaker for the event.
According to the 2001 California Health Interview Survey
conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy and Research, 10
percent of children and 18 percent of adults in California are
completely uninsured.
Of those who are uninsured, 28 percent are Latinos, more than
triple the amount of uninsured Caucasians, according to the survey.
Forty-two percent of uninsured children in California have parents
who can’t speak English.
“Minority health is not a problem just for
minorities,” said Allen Ho, co-president of UCLA APAMSA and
second-year UCLA medical student.
“Non-minorities would benefit the most from a conference
such as this,” he said.
Over one million uninsured families are eligible to be covered
by programs like Medi-Cal or Healthy Families ““ a
children’s health insurance program started by California
governor Gray Davis in 1998 ““ but simply don’t know
about them, according to Brown.
“Next year, you will see health care reform as one of the
major issues in the presidential elections,” Brown said.
“These are positive signs of the political pressures to
change the system.”
Aside from the policies and government action regarding minority
health care, students were also exposed to closer-to-home community
issues.
“Even if you have the best global perspective, the
situation is local,” said keynote speaker America Bracho, CEO
and founder of Latin Health Access, an organization which provides
educational and preventive services to the un-insured. “The
community must be involved.”
Bracho showed pictures of Latino communities where children
played in dumpsters and liquor stores.
She encouraged the room full of pre-med and medical students to
become aware of the health of the community and to take a hands-on
approach where it was most needed.
“You don’t need to be poor to commit to this agenda.
You need to be sensitive and caring. You also need to go out and
see it,” she said. “Researchers that only keep their
hands on the keyboard ““ they don’t get it.”
The difficulties preventing minorities from receiving adequate
health care are apparent even at UCLA’s medical school.
“There are 95 languages and dialects spoken by our
translators, but there is a difference between someone translating
what a patient is saying and a health care provider who understands
their culture,” said Neil Parker, Senior Associate Dean of
the Medical School.
A panel of medical experts discussed policy proposals to
establish a universal health care program for families of all
incomes and ethnic backgrounds.
“Programs for poor people are poorly supported because
they don’t have the political clout,” Brown said.
“With universal health care, everyone is in the same boat
and everybody becomes an advocate of this program, making sure all
the people covered by it get good services.”
After the panel, students attended workshops conducted by UCLA
medical professors and other experts on topics ranging from
minority mental health to the challenges of the minority medical
applicant.
The conference was sponsored by a variety of donors, including
the California Endowment, the Office of Academic Outreach and
Enrichment for the School of Medicine, and the Princeton
Review.
Many students on the path to medicine came from all over
California to attend the conference, walking away with much more
than a free breakfast and lunch.
“It’s better to know what you’re stepping into
career-wise by knowing the issues behind it,” said second
year biology major Artemis Deravenesian.
“It’s not just caring for the patients. The
bureaucracy is so involved that you can’t ignore
it.”
The conference also provided motivation and direction for the
future career choices of aspiring health care professionals like
fourth-year UCLA medical student Jessica Jones.
“I wanted to broaden my knowledge on what problems are out
there and what’s being done,” Jones said.
“Listening to the speakers has put me in the mode of
“˜What am I going to do to help?'”