Brainstorming for what would become the Health Equity Scholars Program began several years ago — over tacos — between its now co-director Dr. Michael Levas, and the Milwaukee Fire Department’s Assistant Fire Chief, Joshua Parish.
"I started talking about how we were having a barrier in terms of losing really good physician applicants to other cities. And specifically, our medical students and residents of color were not choosing to stay in Milwaukee," Levas says.
He added that the fire department's cadet school was also struggling to keep people in Milwaukee once their training ended.
Levas left that conversation thinking about shaping a unique program directed at attracting and supporting students who have an interest in health equity and working in Milwaukee.
That program launched this year. The Medical College welcomed five first-year medical students as its inaugural cohort of Health Equity Scholars.
Of the five cohort members, four are from Milwaukee. One is from Minneapolis.
Health Equity Scholars have their tuition paid in full. They get expert health equity training to learn to care for marginalized groups in Milwaukee. They get psychosocial support, which helps them navigate the challenges of pursuing a career in medicine and caring for at-risk communities.
And lastly, they have access to a living-learning community. The program will be based at ThriveOn King, a community hub on King Drive, giving the medical students a chance to develop relationships and live among the people they’ll one day be serving.
One of the Health Equity Scholars in the inaugural cohort is Milwaukee resident Dalicia Simpson.
"This program specifically made for physicians who want to practice in Milwaukee is so important to me because I know the need is there," Simpson says. "I always had the idea that I wanted to come back to Milwaukee when I’m a doctor, start my own practice and be able to give underrepresented populations and minority populations the doctor that I know that they deserve."
Another medical student in the program, Miracle Powell, is also from Milwaukee.
"I know the areas that don’t have access to a grocery store with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. I lived and grew up on a block that was surrounded by a food desert and there were liquor stores on every corner," Powell says. "So, I know the environments that unfortunately people are living and trying to thrive in and to be chosen specifically by people from the Milwaukee community to be one day a physician who will be able to serve and give back, it feels amazing."
Dr. Cassie Ferguson co-directs the Health Equity Scholars Program with Levas. Ferguson says there are other programs aimed at attracting physicians to work in underserved communities.
Typically, the incentive is student loan forgiveness once doctors have already graduated and been trained.
"There was recent a study that found that the program after 60 years has not led really to any significant changes in either the number of physicians who work in underserved areas or more importantly in patient outcomes," Ferguson says.
The Medical College heard in focus groups from its own students why physicians weren’t staying to practice in Milwaukee.
They mentioned not feeling like they were wanted. And feeling like they didn’t have the chance to connect with the community in genuine ways.
"So, we really were interested in a more systemic solution that really capitalized on all that existing research, and so we set out, when we began designing this program, with that aim to incorporate all those factors into a single program with the intention of increasing the number of our graduates who choose to stay and practice here, and additionally who are trained to care for the people who are overlooked and underserved in our city."
The Medical College will welcome five new Health Equity Scholars a year for three years to continue to build a workforce of doctors dedicated to Milwaukee.
