SRJC healthcare symposium set for Jan. 27 will focus on Latinos

Mi Futuro esta en Carreras de Salud: My Future is in Healthcare is the North Bay’s healthcare symposium for youth to introduce careers in mental health and primary healthcare.

The symposium will take place Jan. 27 from 8:30 a.m.-2:10 p.m. in the Lawrence A. Bertolini Student Activities Center on the Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa campus.

Registration for the event is full with almost 330 students preregistered to attend.

The symposium is for all students between the ages of 16-30, with a particular focus on Latino youth with cultural sensitivity to the unique Latino patient-care needs. Sonoma County is predicted to have a dominant Latino population by 2050. In an effort to strategically manage the local healthcare workforce development to reflect the expected patient-care demand, the symposium highlights and targets the Latino population.

The purpose of the symposium is to:

1) Reduce participant attitudes and beliefs about stigma associated with mental health conditions and accessing treatment.

2) Increase participants’ understanding of the stigma related to mental health as a barrier to treatment and wellness.

3) Motivate participants to consider careers in the mental health and primary healthcare careers.

4) Share economic opportunities in the local community.

5) Highlight educational career pathways at the high school and post-secondary levels.

6) Inform students on how to access financial aid and other available resources/personnel in the community.

The symposium is made possible through cooperation with the SRJC’s Health Sciences Department and LSP. The event also is made possible with a grant received through the State of California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Healthcare Workforce Development Division.