Two UW-Milwaukee alumni are among the inaugural cohort of a new program meant to address the health disparities that plague the Milwaukee community.
Ciara Ayala, who graduated in 2020 with a double major in biological sciences and psychology, and Alex Martinez, who completed a major in biological sciences in 2020, have been accepted not just as students to the Medical College of Wisconsin, but as members of the newly-created Health Equity Scholars Program at MCW. As part of the program, they will receive full tuition for all four years of medical school, a housing stipend, psycho-social support, and specialized training that will have them working alongside members of the health care community.
Disparities in the city
It is no secret that people of color, low-income earners, and other marginalized groups often experience worse health outcomes than other populations. There are startling disparities in the rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, maternal/fetal health complications, and more.
“When we say ‘health disparities,’ we are referring to issues that are outside the realm of healthcare, such as income, housing, etc. We call them the social determinants of health,” explained Devarati Syam, the program manager of the HESP. “When you look … (at determinants like) education, income, employment, crime, housing, and transportation, you see how that poses a very grim picture of the city of Milwaukee with its history of redlining and segregation.”
The need to address those inequalities is dire, and there’s no easy fix. But, MCW is helping by assembling and preparing a group of physicians who will want to work in the city to address those issues, Syam said.
The Health Equity Scholars Program was created to begin training those physicians. The program has been in development over the past two years with guidance from community members, faculty and staff members, and medical students. In addition to having their tuition waived, the first cohort of five students will have the opportunity to work alongside health care professionals in the Thrive on King building, a newly-developed space in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood that will act as a hub of community resources. That includes everything from an early childhood center to a job resource center to a communal art space. MCW is one of the building’s anchor tenants, and HESP students will live in the building and work at growing community engagement.
“There are a lot of community groups that are working in this space and we are collaborating closely with them … to see how we can position ourselves in an impactful way so our students can be resources for the residents and community organizations but also, in turn, learn from them,” Syam said.
Because they will face high expectations, Syam and her colleagues knew they were going to need some special candidates to fill out the first cohort. They looked for people who not only wanted to be part of the solution to Milwaukee’s health disparities, but who also had a fundamental knowledge of the inequalities facing the city’s residents.
Physicians in the making
Ayala and Martinez have that knowledge. They both grew up in the Milwaukee area and have first-hand knowledge of hardships surrounding health care.
“Growing up, my grandparents and parents all had an interesting relationship with medicine,” Ayala said. They would visit a doctor “only once it was too severe or the complications were too much to bear. Those that lived in my community on the southside of Milwaukee notoriously shared the same mindset.”
“I grew up in impoverished neighborhoods in Milwaukee,” Martinez added. He is an immigrant from Honduras; his family moved to the United States when Martinez was 5 years old. “I think something that’s very overlooked when it comes to the Hispanic community or impoverished individuals is the value that individuals place on health. It’s not that they don’t care about health; it’s that they don’t know too much about it.”
Thanks to their experiences, both have a desire to help other people in their community. Martinez has volunteered at the Sixteenth Street Health Clinic, earned a Master’s degree at MCW, and already has some experience working with patients when he volunteers on Froedtert Hospital’s 5NE floor. He smiled as he described his time shadowing a doctor in the Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital.
“Every time we go into a room full of very fearful faces, countless times we leave and I can see how their faces of fear have turned into a face so full of hope,” he said. It’s the reason why he’s thinking of specializing in emergency medicine for his residency.
Ayala hopes that her lived experiences will not only make her a better physician, but also help her build a better health care system that addresses the needs of people who can’t access affordable care. She’s thinking of specializing in trauma surgery because she enjoys the fast-paced environment.
Ayala had already been involved in MCW’s StEP-UP program, but finding out she had also been accepted to the HESP felt like an acknowledgement of her hard work.
“It’s been a complicated process to this point. Having the knowledge that I’m supported, that I will be able to have a little bit of comfort going into med school without the worry of finances and being able to focus more of my time (on helping the Milwaukee community) is amazing,” Ayala said.
Both credit UWM with helping to prepare them for the next steps in their academic careers. Ayala points to her undergraduate research experiences with professor of psychology Christine Larson, and Martinez credits professor emerita Ava Udvadia and associate professor Sonia Bardy with inspiring his love of microbiology.
Syam is excited for the start of the program and hopes that Ayala, Martinez, and the other students in the HESP will be the foundation for a strong program. A second and third cohort have already been planned.
“They are rooted in Milwaukee. They’re a part of the city. They’re bright. They’re positive,” Syam said of the students. “I hope they will come out as strong physicians focused on health equity and be future physicians in the city of Milwaukee.”
By Sarah Vickery, College of Letters & Science