College of HHD

Healthcare Answers for Underserved Populations

April 22, 2015

frank alvarez talks to studentsWhat are some of the common misconceptions surrounding the recent measles outbreak? Are there any new insights into strategic health priorities such as obesity and asthma? What should health and wellness professionals consider when working with people from underserved communities?  

Showing students the many pathways to success in the healthcare field is one of the goals of the five-year, $2 million CAMINO grant from the US Department of Education. The CAMINO Speakers Series highlights some of those pathways by bringing healthcare leaders to campus to share their professional journeys and their expertise with our students.

Insights into strategic health priorities such as obesity and asthma and answers to common misconceptions surrounding the recent measles outbreak were among the topics brought to light by Frank Alvarez, MD, MPH, Area Health Officer, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, who spoke to students as part of the Professor for a Day event in the spring semester.  Alvarez also elaborated on some of the complications that result from misunderstandings about vaccinations and discussed the broader view of what happens to communities when vaccinations are skipped.

With his rise to a position of leadership in the healthcare field as the foundation of his talk, Alvarez addressed health and wellness issues that tend to affect people living in urban areas and the needs professionals should consider when working with people from under-served communities—particularly Latino populations.

Sloane Burke, Health Sciences faculty and Project Director for CAMINO, talked about the selection of Alvarez for the speakers series. “Dr. Alvarez is a true mentor for current and future health professionals,” Burke said, "It’s essential that emerging CSUN scholars and practitioners now entering the allied health professions learn about the culturally competent leadership skills he demonstrates.”  

Dan Ruiz is a student in the CAMINO program. He said what impressed him most about the Alvarez lecture was the fact that professionals must consider the “upstream” of social and economic factors that underscore health disparities. “He talked about the variations in life expectancy at birth seen throughout the region,” Ruiz said, “and he said that in fact, the Latino population is often least likely to have access to healthcare and is generally less likely to seek help or care when it is needed.”

Health Administration undergraduate Alan Vasquez said what impressed him most about the talk was the idea that all leaders must be open minded.  “Dr. Alvarez told us that open-mindedness has had the biggest influence on his success as a leader,” Vasquez said. “He said that in his many travels both national and worldwide, he was able to experience new environments, new cultures, and most important, new ideas. These new ideas and experiences helped pave the way into his leadership success in public health.”
 
“As a Latino and first generation college student, seeing Dr. Alvarez and his leadership success in the public health field serves as a motivation to keep going,” Vasquez said, “It is uplifting to see a Latino health professional excel.  I am thankful for both Dr. Alvarez and the CAMINO program for hosting these types of presentations.”
 

Jean O'Sullivan

SP 2015