Noted Experts to Lead Breakthrough Conversation at Center for Hispanic Leadership, December 2nd Hispanics in Healthcare Forum
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) November 25, 2013 -- With the growing need to build synergy between U.S. Hispanic patients and the medical community especially in states with high Hispanic populations, Center for Hispanic Leadership’s December 2nd forum, Strengthening the Hispanic Pipeline in Healthcare and Biomedical Fields, hosted at City of Hope in Duarte, California, will feature leaders from City of Hope, Citrus Valley Health Partners, Duarte Unified School District, Pew Hispanic Center, and the Texas Medical Association as well as prominent subject matter experts.
“With only five percent of physicians in the United States Latino and the lack of targeted culturally-relevant healthcare information, education, and outreach to Hispanics,” says Glenn Llopis, CHL CEO/Founder, “the focus of the forum will be to awaken a conversation that is long overdue about how the Hispanic talent pipeline can be developed.”
As the numbers clearly indicate, in California the Hispanic population indexes well above the national average yet the percentage of Hispanic physicians is also only five percent. More concerning is the fact that in the next 12 months an increasing percentage of Hispanics will become insured, while the ratio of those who can best serve them is declining – inevitably leading to a significant wave that will rock the healthcare industry. Adds Llopis, “This is not a Hispanic issue but a demographic shift that the healthcare system – whose identity is still in crisis – is not currently addressing.”
As the numbers of Hispanics continue to increase (55 million), more Hispanic leaders and role models in all industries are needed, but particularly in healthcare for two major reasons: 1) professional healthcare is not necessarily something Hispanics were raised with or see the value in, and therefore they may not seek it out; and 2) the urgency is greater in this industry because the lack of research and outreach to the community directly affects their health and well-being. “The American Medical system has fallen short in its outreach efforts to educate and make Hispanics more healthcare literate,” explains Dr. Carlos Cardenas, Chair of the Texas Medical Association Board of Trustees and one of the CHL forum panelists. “Socio-economic, financial pressures and health illiteracy make it difficult. The medical community must better educate Hispanics, make them more knowledgeable about preventive care. We must put them in the driver’s seat.”
According to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, in order for the U.S. to remain globally competitive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the country will need to train 1 million STEM professionals over the next 10 years. Currently, educational institutions are tackling this situation and trying to discern why STEM careers are not drawing more Hispanics and best practices to remedy this issue.
Another forum panelist, Stephanie Neuvirth, Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer at City of Hope, which serves Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties, knows this urgent need extremely well. Those counties include 48% of COH’s catchment/service area (16% of the total U.S. Hispanic population). "Our commitment at City of Hope is to be extremely active in conversations that support the changing demographic in the U.S. We are aware of the increasingly important role ethnicity plays in education, treatment, and cures and the need for more diverse employees - from physicians and researchers, to executive leaders, dietitians and community outreach workers, and we are making every effort to be proactive with our intentions to welcome diverse populations."
With the goal of building a Hispanic talent pipeline, the opportunities in the healthcare and biomedical professional fields for Hispanics as well as leveraging government, educational, business, and professional organizations as well as community partners throughout the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles county, the two-hour thought-leadership forum will feature an interactive discussion between a panel of senior leaders in the healthcare industry and other prominent subject matter experts who will speak from the floor. After this solution-centric conversation, the forum will feature a Solutions Exchange session in which attendees can dig deeper to discuss specific topics such as educational awareness, recruitment, mentoring, networking, career management, and professional development with subject matter experts, who will be stationed at booths.
Adds Llopis, “This forum will be a breakthrough event that will cultivate a national conversation. Our goal is to encourage more Hispanics to enter the healthcare industry in order to alleviate the shortage and allow the industry to move in a direction where research, treatment, and prevention efforts begin to match the needs of this expanding community. However, our ultimate objective is to identify solutions, expand upon them, and encourage attendees to be accountable to build best practices around them.”
For more information about the December 2nd event, please visit Strengthening the Hispanic Pipeline in Healthcare and Biomedical Fields or email Marisa Salcines at marisa(at)centerforhispanicleadership(dot)com or call 678-520-6429.
About CHL Corporate
We build brands from the outside in.
Instead of selling to Hispanic consumers, let them help build your brand and enable them to influence its growth.
We develop Hispanic leaders from the inside out.
By embracing their unique immigrant perspective instead of assimilating so quickly, Hispanic employees are enabled to innovate and lead your business with cultural authenticity.
As the only Hispanic human capital, business development, and marketing consulting firm of its kind, CHL’s unique approach is centered on building leaders and building brands by clearly demonstrating how these two facets are interconnected and dependent on each other. To learn more about CHL Corporate, visit us at http://www.centerforhispanicleadership.com.
Marisa Salcines, Center for Hispanic Leadership, http://www.centerforhispanicleadership.com, +1 678-520-6429, [email protected]
Share this article