Boston Disparities Project: Healthcare Career Bridge Programs

The Boston Disparities Project is a program developed by the Boston Public Health Commission and Mayor Thomas M. Menino to target the main factors that lead to worse health outcomes for the minority population in Boston. The Project has granted over $2 million to more than 100 community organizations to work towards achieving this goal. The Project is innovative in that it recognizes many elements, from environmental and social, to economic and academic, factor into health inequities. One of these factors, which is receiving increasing attention across the country, is the lack of workforce diversity among health professionals. Providers should reflect the diverse populations that they serve. Therefore, the Project supported two novel programs, the “Students Taking Action for Nursing Diversity” (STAND) and the “Careers in Urban Nursing” (CAN) Programs that bridged Boston Public high school students with a health career path. In the first year, 50 students were enrolled in a nursing program with Bunker Hill Community College through the STAND program, and 40 with the American Red Cross through CAN. We would like to share the strategies used in implementing such a program. After the completion of the first year of the programs, we are also aware of the challenges we face in improving them. We hope to highlight these strategies, challenges, and lessons learned through the projects by presenting one aspect of eliminating health disparities – through increasing workforce diversity.