One of HCC’s core values and commitments is to inspire and empower health leaders and professionals to give back to their communities and to serve underserved communities. We also emphasize the importance of giving back to others following in the health career and educational pipeline.
Populations and individuals in low income communities, communities of color and underserved rural and urban areas experience significantly inequities in health status, disease burden and mortality. They also have less access to quality healthcare, preventative services, health providers and community conditions that promote and protect health. In some areas, as high as 40% of the population is limited English proficient and needs access to language assistance or bilingual providers to ensure quality appropriate services. All populations need access to culturally appropriate programs and services. As our population becomes increasingly diverse and with our challenging economic situation, it is more important than ever that we encourage more people of all backgrounds to commit to spending some or all of their health careers in supporting improvements in the health and well being of our underserved communities.
HCC promotes or interns and alumni to serve these populations by providing exposure, experience and mentoring in a variety of organizations that have a mission of serving the underserved. Many HCC interns and alumni work in community health centers, county hospitals, public health departments, community based health organizations, advocacy groups, juvenile justice centers, policy organizations, healthy community initiatives and other organizations serving the underserved. Interns and alumni serve as outreach workers, educators, navigators, administrators, clinicians and researchers. They also work in emerging areas such as Health Information Technology.
HCC raises money from foundations and donors to provide funding to support intern stipends in organizations that serve these populations that cant afford to pay the full or partial stipend. As a result, interns do not have barriers to working with the populations and on the issues they are most passionate about. HCC makes a concerted effort to recruit and support interns who are from underserved communities or populations who want to give back to and work in those communities. Many HCC interns in our 6 regions are from the local communities and have valuable community and cultural knowledge, key language skills and valuable relationships. HCC strives to increase the number of our interns from these communities who get to work in local health organizations during their internships and become more inspired and empowered to return to serve upon completion of the health related training. To help support HCC to achieve these goals please contact us to discuss partnerships for hosting interns, providing exposure or mentoring. You can also donate to help HCC support interns to work in these communities by clicking here.
HCC also prioritizes giving back to younger students in the pipeline. HCC partners with college, high school and intermediate level health pipeline programs in our regions. HCC provides the college career and professional development component of pipeline programs in a region so that students from those areas can continue to be supported to achieve their health career and educational goals. Many HCC interns serve as coordinators or summer programs for younger students to enhance their academic and health career support. HCC interns, many from the same communities or background serve as role models and mentors for younger students in addition to coordinating program content. HCC works with youth pipeline programs in the Bronx, Oakland, Los Angeles, Fresno, Manhattan, Santa Clara and Coachella Valley. We hope to expand our support of these programs and for alumni of those programs in college. Many HCC alums are products of these programs. To support HCC efforts to assist students at earlier stages of the pipeline or to partner with us please contact Trisha Garcia at tlgarcia@healthcareers.org or click here to donate.
