Aerial view of California State University, San Marcos. Photo from CSUSM Housing Facebook
California State University has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aimed at guiding university system students toward careers in federal health care.
CSU President Mildred Garcia said the memorandum will expand CSU students’ access to “internships, mentorship and experiential training programs” at HHS and better prepare them for careers at HHS and other health care employers. He said he will be able to prepare well.
The agreement is “a national initiative to prepare a dynamically diverse new generation of health care professionals to meet our nation’s growing and critical workforce needs, particularly in critical areas such as nursing, public health, and behavioral health.” “It represents an important partnership that serves as a model,” Garcia said.
An HHS report released at the same time as the signing of the MOU projects that the United States will face a shortage of nearly 140,000 physicians by 2036. It also summarizes evidence of the lack of demographic diversity in the country’s health care workforce.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said before the signing that the department is trying to attract more students from their home state of California to work at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.
“Here’s the problem: We’re in the hinterland, at least that’s what Californians call anything other than Las Vegas. It’s the hinterland because it’s too far away,” said Becerra, a former state attorney general. said. “Why leave this weather alone? Why leave the world’s fifth-largest economy with an opportunity to substantially support it?”
In answering his own questions, Becerra touted the agency’s efforts to develop new vaccines, expand access to health insurance and respond to the avian influenza epidemic.
“There are a lot of people who can make a difference,” he said. “We want more of these people to come from California.”
Amy DiPiero covers higher education and the California State University System.
