The university is among 20 schools and state health agencies taking part in a program meant to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the North Carolina healthcare workforce.
Elon University is one of 20 institutions now taking part in an academic and state agency partnership aimed at increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the state’s healthcare workforce.
The North Carolina Alliance for Health Professions Diversity hopes to reduce disparities in health status and healthcare by increasing diversity in health care, creating a future healthcare workforce that is increasingly proficient in cross-racial and cross-cultural interactions.
Senior representatives from participating institutions signed a memorandum of understanding at a formal ceremony on March 27, 2015, on the campus of Winston-Salem State University. Elizabeth Rogers, dean of the School of Health Sciences, represented Elon University.
Participating colleges, universities and state health agencies include: Elon University, Bennett College, Campbell University, Davidson Community College, East Carolina University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina Central University, High Point University, Appalachian State University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, St. Augustine’s University, Western Carolina University, Winston-Salem State University, N.C. Area Health Education Center, N. C. Department of Health and Human Services, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and the Forsyth County Department of Public Health.
North Carolina is among the most diverse states in the nation, ranking ninth with respect to its percentage African-American residents (22 percent). African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos (8.9 percent), American Indians/Alaska Natives (1.6 percent), and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (0.1 percent) constitute 32.6 percent of the state’s population.
But in North Carolina, minorities constitute only one out of six health professionals.