Impact Stories
Ripe for Change: How Real-World Exposure Grows Better Healers
Dr. Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth leads pre-med fellows through Estrada Courts to understand the complex social determinants of health that impact residents.
Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth, Ph.D., R.N., PHN cannot stop thinking about guavas. Tall, beautiful guava trees dot the paths leading from the Estrada Courts public housing complex to the nearby elementary school. Their limbs are heavy with ripe fruit and hang over the walkway that children and families pass through.
They hit you with this smell when you're twenty feet away. There is no way, as a child, that I would not have eaten them every day.”
Dr. Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth
From Research to Real Life: Preparing the Next Generation
Dr. Martinez-Hollingsworth is the Director of Research and Evaluation at the AltaMed Institute for Health Equity. She recently visited Estrada Courts with pre-med fellows from Charles Drew University, giving them firsthand exposure to the complex social determinants of health that impact residents.
We are growing the peers that we want. The real care starts with us building empathy in the students. Science, anybody can learn.”
Dr. Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth
Challenging Assumptions About Health Decisions
The guava trees at Estrada Courts illustrate a powerful reality: knowledge alone doesn't always lead to better health decisions. Unfortunately, the trees are rooted in soil that has long been a concern for the community due to industrial contamination.
Training the Next Generation of Compassionate Care
These types of experiences are key to fostering cultural humility. They challenge preconceived notions about why people make the health choices they do and create a deeper, more empathetic understanding of the barriers communities face.
Nobody can do it like AltaMed. We don't need to wait for other people to change the world. That's what we're here to do.”
Dr. Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth
Make a Difference