WASHINGTON (March 31, 2021)  — In 2019, Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans were severely underrepresented in the health care workforce, a trend that shows limited signs of improvement, according to a study published today by George Washington University researchers.

“Our findings suggest that Blacks, Latinos and other people of color have been left behind when it comes to the health professions,” Edward Salsberg, senior research scientist and co-director of the Health Workforce Diversity Tracker project at the GW Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity, said. The Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity is based at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health.
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Salsberg, who is the lead author, said the study is one of the first to measure the representation of Blacks, Latinos and other minorities in the current workforce and compare it to the diversity of the future workforce across health professions. The findings are important because minority health professionals play a critical role in efforts to reduce the disproportionate burden of diseases, including COVID-19, among communities of color. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 4, 2020) – The Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity, based at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, today announced that Toyese Oyeyemi, Jr., has been named Director of the Beyond Flexner Alliance program.

​Oyeyemi, who started Sept. 1, previously served as a Health Extension Regional Officer and researcher at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. As a public health practitioner and researcher, Oyeyemi is committed to finding innovative solutions to improve community health and increasing diversity and inclusion in the healthcare workforce. As director of the Beyond Flexner Alliance, Oyeyemi’s primary focus will be to connect leaders in healthcare with one another, encourage new practices of global learning within the alliance, and engage a broader and more inclusive set of social mission stakeholders and programming into the program’s work.

WASHINGTON, DC (May 7, 2020) – A novel workforce tool created by researchers at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) estimates that the nation will need a total of 184,000 COVID-19 contact tracers in order to help society safely reopen and limit the size of future waves of the virus. The tool will help state and local health departments determine the number of staff needed to effectively identify and trace people who have been in contact with new cases of COVID-19 and slow the spread of the virus.

“We know the virus that causes COVID-19 is highly contagious and spread by human contact,” said Edward Salsberg, MPA, a senior research scientist at the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity (Mullan Institute), which is based at Milken Institute SPH. “This new tool will help public health officials plan for the workforce needed to identify those most at risk and ease up on community-wide social distancing measures yet still keep the public safe.”
Using data on the number of COVID-19 cases, the estimated number of contacts per infected persons and other information, the team of researchers at the Mullan Institute have created the Contact Tracing Workforce Estimator. The tool was developed in collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).