BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Youth Health Expo featuring over 90 vendors from health and medical professionals is striving to create leaders for the 21st Century.
This event exposed youth ages 6 to 18, especially those of color, to educational, cultural, and recreational activities.
Family Medicine Physician Dr. Janet White Cook explained why it is so vital for Blacks to go into medicine.
“In the healthcare society, African Americans are underrepresented. And so we want everybody to know that we are here. We need children to go into medicine,” Cook said.
Dr. Glennis Gray, Deputy Assistant Secretary Office of Public Health said it’s an amazing opportunity for students to be conscious of their career paths.
“Only 5% of African American physicians are within the country. So, this is to allow students to come in, hear what they do, hear their stories, and be able to mentor with them,” Gray said.
With such a small percentage of Black physicians in the country, Dr. Steven Kelley with Jump Start Your Heart Inc. said the Youth Health Expo is something all youth need to know about.
“It’s a good way for young people to get exposure to healthcare as a whole,” Kelley said.
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