Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, medical student Sergio Vazquez saw his family frequently postpone healthcare, due to high costs and transportation issues.
After noticing health inequities for many people of color, Vazquez now aspires to become a physician, dedicated to serving the Latino community. He said he is pursuing a career in the field in hopes of helping to dismantle systemic barriers contributing to health disparities, and devote his career to “intervening in medical injustice,” working with patients who may need language assistance.
“I see a little bit of my parents in the patients that I interact with,” the 24-year-old, who has clinical experience at L.A. medical centers including Cedars-Sinai and L.A. County General Medical Center. “That influences the provider-patient interaction even more, because I really want what’s best for them — just like I would my mom and dad.”
Vazquez is one of eight scholarship awardees in the latest Elevating the Safety Net cohort. The program, launched in 2018, was created to address a growing physician shortage across the country — including in L.A. County, which could drastically affect healthcare for diverse and low-income communities, officials said.
The $205 million initiative from L.A. Care — which provides health insurance for low-income county residents — also strives to improve diversity overall in medical staffing. Research shows more successful outcomes for patients of color who have more racially and ethnically diverse, “culturally competent” doctors.
Since its launch, the program has yielded 188 newly recruited physicians now working in the county’s medical care system, which officials said equates to about 376,000 patients being served.
The Association of American Medical Colleges reported that the U.S. faces projected shortages of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036.
The full list of “Elevating the Safety Net” awardees include Estrella Ramirez, Monica Valle, Sergio Vazquez, Lewis Williams, Diana Castro, Anthony Jones, Kennedi Randolph and Brenda Vasquez.
This year’s cohort of eight, all from diverse communities in the region, were honored during a white coat ceremony held Tuesday, July 16 in downtown L.A. Each student received their symbolic white coat and a full-ride scholarship worth up to $428,000, allowing them to graduate without medical school debt, said program spokesperson James Chisum.
Sergio Vazquez became emotional while discussing the impact a scholarship like this will have on him, his family and the communities he hopes to serve. He looks forward to attending the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South L.A.
“It is nothing short of life-changing,” he said, with tears in his eyes. “In a way, it feels like it’s a validation of my hardships and struggles.”
John Baackes, L.A. Care’s retiring CEO, was “proud” the majority of the 56 full-ride program scholars “have come from communities of color.”
“What is especially important for L.A. Care is that all of these scholars have expressed a desire to work in underserved communities, like those that L.A. Care serves,” he said. “We know the diversity of these scholars is going to mean better health outcomes for our members and others for years to come.”
Over half of all medical students have an average debt of over $206,000 after graduating, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Crippling debt can lead to graduates choosing high-profit positions usually found in wealthier areas, rather than working in low-income areas, officials said. This can lead to underserved communities with medical centers that are overburdened and understaffed.
Little to no doctor diversity also could lead to a lack of “culturally competent care” for patients, which the American Hospital Association calls the “ability to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including tailoring health care delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural and linguistic needs.”
Through “Elevating the Safety Net,” 192 physicians have been awarded loan repayment grants, Chisum said.
L.A. resident Kennedi Rudolph, another scholarship awardee, also hopes to give back to the diverse community she was raised in. She called the scholarship an “unbelievable opportunity” that “takes a lot of weight off of my shoulders.”
Born in Riverside and raised in South L.A., Rudolph said from an early age she saw many deaths in her family due to cancer and preventable chronic conditions. This piqued her interest in medicine and, as she got older, Rudolph became invested in working with communities of color who have historically faced health disparities, especially the Black community. Rudolph has volunteered at MLK Community Hospital, TRAPMedicine and other facilities, earning over 400 service hours.
Rudolph is interested in studying to become an OB-GYN because of the disproportionately high death rates of pregnant Black women. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause due to factors including undiagnosed chronic illnesses, racism, or a lack of quality healthcare, the Centers for Disease Control said.
“There are so many common and preventable illnesses that occur, and I think that is something that definitely empowered me to want to focus on preventive health education,” Rudolph, 23, said.
Rudolph, who will be studying at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said she hopes to become the doctor she wishes her family had, and wants to inspire future African American physicians.
L.A. Care scholar Estrella Ramirez first became interested in continuing her medical education, after working as a pharmacy tech in a rehabilitation center. She became “naturally curious” about the field of medicine, and learning about medications that could help different conditions.
Raised by a single mom, Ramirez said she saw firsthand the comfort her mother received when seeking Latino doctors who spoke Spanish.
“It was very eye-opening that we’d have to take several buses to go see a doctor in downtown Los Angeles, and that there wasn’t that many Hispanic physicians — even in L.A. which is majority Hispanic,” she said.
In vast L.A. County — home to around 4.8 million Latino residents — just 6% percent of physicians and surgeons indicated a “Hispanic background” in their survey, the Medical Board of California reported in 2022.
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Ramirez will start her program at L.A.’s Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science this year. Through her pursuit of family and emergency medicine, she hopes to provide culturally competent care to people of color in the community. Access to such care, she said, is key for L.A.’s diverse residents.
“It makes patients more comfortable; often they are a bit more willing to open up. It’s important for patient care, for there to be physicians of color treating patients of color.”