Today marks the sixth week of my time with the CLA program. That means I have about two weeks left with my host office, AltaMed. As I reflect on my time with AltaMed, I often think back to when I first found out about my placement with them. I remembered asking “What is AltaMed and how does it connect to civic engagement?” At the time, I did not know how to answer this question as I was not familiar with the organization nor their mission statement. However, as I worked with the Government Affairs and Civic Engagement team overtime, I began to develop a better understanding of how those two connect with each other.
Essentially, AltaMed is connected to the civic engagement world because of their advocacy work in ensuring that everybody has adequate access to healthcare services. To illustrate, their Government Affairs team research and promote healthcare policies to elected officials. Likewise, their Civic Engagement team works directly with community members to ensure that they are registered to vote and up to date with politics. All of this is meaningful because these works are geared towards one common goal - giving the community more resources and opportunities to flourish.
At the same time, it is important to note that policies passed can impact or shape one’s health. If good policies are passed, it can help improve one’s health. In contrast, if bad policies are passed, it can decrease one’s health. In fact, during one of my conversations with my supervisor, Olivia Lee, we talked about the differences between equality and equity. She defined these two terms as “Equality is giving everyone something thinking that they are on the same level. On the contrary, equity is giving everyone something on the same level.” Basically, equality is when an individual is given the same opportunity or resources as someone else. However, equity is the same thing but recognizing that an individual might need more opportunities or resources than others.
You may be asking yourself, why does this conversation matter? Well, this discussion matters because equality and equity can be seen everywhere including the healthcare world. To demonstrate, the recent overturned supreme case of Roe vs. Wade has stripped away women’s rights to abortion. There will be some states that will continue to allow abortions while there will be others that will not be as kind. Not to mention, my supervisor assigned me to read a few bills on abortion rights which ties to this conversation.
The policies that I read were AB 1242, AB 2626, and AB 1918. The first policy (AB 1242) essentially protects abortion providers and patients from being arrested by law enforcement officers. It also prohibits law enforcement agencies from sharing any information related to abortion to outsiders. The second policy (AB 2626) aims to protect physician, surgeon, nurse, or any physician assistant from being revoked for performing an abortion. Lastly, the third policy (AB 1918) would create a Corps that would provide jobs, scholarships, and loan repayment to scholars from underrepresented communities on abortion education, as well as operations. These policies are important because they are trying to protect women’s rights to abortion whether they are from California or not. They are also important in ensuring that anyone who operates abortions are also protected as well.
Anyways, the kind of work that AltaMed and other health clinics are doing is directly or indirectly related to civic engagement in some way. Although it may not look like it, their work is integral in guaranteeing that everyone has access to services and providers that can help improve their lives. I greatly respect what AltaMed has done for the community and I hope you see it too.
