APHA Supports Sullivan Commission's Blueprint to Address Nation's Shortage of Minority Health Professionals

Abstract

The American Public Health Association (APHA) today supported the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Health Workforce's recommendations for addressing the scarcity of minorities in the U.S. health work force, despite the nation's growing diversity. In its report, Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions, the Sullivan Commission, named for its chair, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis W. Sullivan, MD, issued 37 recommendations to address the root causes of the nation's underrepresentation of minority health professionals, including nurses, doctors and dentists. The Commission found that failure to reverse this trend could place the health of at least one-third of the nation's citizens at risk as health care providers become further disconnected from the minority populations they serve.