Healthcare systems in urban and rural areas either are collapsing or nonexistent. One university in North St. Louis aims to help.
“The reality is that rural and urban community healthcare systems are falling apart and hospitals are closing in unprecedented numbers,” said David Lenihan, J.D., Ph.D. and president of Ponce Health Sciences University. “It’s crucial that we teach culturally competent healthcare workers in the middle of all of this chaos that is occurring around us. We don’t need physicians in Chicago or New York. We need doctors in North St. Louis, in rural Missouri.”
Ponce Health Sciences University was opened in 2018 in the Globe Building in downtown St. Louis. Lenihan said the city’s location in the middle of America lies at the heart of the school’s mission.
PHSU is in an urban location that has limited access to healthcare, so the staff and student body are at the center of this issue and can work to be part of the solution.
“This program allows them to not only change their lives, but also change the lives of their families and their communities by providing them with opportunities they may not otherwise have and placing them on a pathway to economic security. The majority of graduates return to their communities and work to reverse the existing healthcare disparities that are prevalent in so many of our neighborhoods,” Lenihan said.
Education at Ponce goes beyond tests and quizzes. For example, courses in clinical psychology enable students to obtain clinical skills. In addition to the required degree course load, students take classes with titles such as Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Diversity and Social Basis of Behavior, to name a few.
“We equip our students with clinical skills, cultural competence and the social sensitivity needed to serve in diverse roles,” Lenihan said. “They are prepared to enter the workforce as a well-rounded clinician who can make a positive social impact in a neighborhood that may be devoid of professional healthcare services. Suddenly, these community residents have improved access to everything from preventive and pediatric to vascular and cardiac care. This is a game-changer for them and for society as a whole.”
When students apply to the school, Lenihan said he and his staff are more interested in how that student plans to help patients within the healthcare crisis rather than just reviewing past performance in school.
“What are they going to do to help humanity, and how do they propose we solve the healthcare crisis that exists today?” he said.
The staff at Ponce strives to help their students learn, and equips them with the tools to grow and better their communities.
For more information, visit stlouis.psm.edu.
