Desmond James – Urban Health Fellow

Student Reflection, 7/14/14

“On Monday we went to UCLA to the Micro Lab to see Dr. Omai. We went to the Lab and we looked at how to separate blood. He told us that people who do liver transplants can cost up to 700,000; and that’s a whole lot of money. Dr. Omai also showed us how a tapeworm. lives, and we also got a chance to hold it. When we went to the EMT they showed us how to do CPR. We also went to the police station and were able to sit inside of a jail.”

– Desmond James

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The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, in a 2009 report stated, the death rate for African Americans was higher than Whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide.

In response to the health crises impacting communities of color, SJLI with funding from The California Wellness Foundation has developed a five-week, hands-on internship and training fellowship. A Fellow wrote the preceding journal entry during his Urban Health Fellowship training.