LOS ANGELES — Every week, 18-year-old Katherine Castro finds a new book to dive into.
This passion has sparked her drive to seek answers and find solutions in her community.
“I have investigative skills," Castro said. "I'm just really interested in investigating or helping people out."
But when it came to finding help for her own health, it wasn’t easy.
“We’re a very low-income community," Castro said. "There’s so many kind of emergencies and medical services that people need, but they cannot access that because they don’t have the money.”
With monthslong waits for appointments at clinics 40 minutes away, Castro found herself searching for a way to bring care closer to home. Two years ago, during a Student Health Advisory Board meeting, she raised the issue.
“We were speaking about how not a lot of us have access to free health care, because it’s very expensive," Castro explained. "So we started talking about ideas on what we can do.”
Through her research, Castro discovered that Jordan High School once had a clinic that was shut down due to the pandemic. Determined to change this, she and her peers took their concerns to school leaders, advocating for the clinic’s return.
Thanks to their efforts, Los Angeles Unified School District partnered with UMMA Community Clinic to bring the clinic back. It’s now fully operational on campus, offering medical services right where students need them most.
“That feels really good because first of all, it’s in your community, which you already trust because you live there,” Castro said. “And also not even that, but it’s also at school. So it’s just easier to manage.”
Dr. Smita Malhotra, LAUSD’s chief medical director, emphasized how access to health care directly impacts student attendance.
“When a child came to the wellness center for a physical health visit, that increased attendance by 5.4 school days a year," Malhotra said.. "When they came for a mental health visit, it increased attendance by seven school days a year.”
The Jordan Wellness Center is the 20th to open on an LAUSD campus. Its medical staff provides a range of services, including medical, behavioral, dental and whole-person care, not just for students but for the local community as well.
“We never turn anybody away from medical care,” said Yohanna Barth-Rogers, family physician and chief medical officer at UMMA Community Clinic. “If you’re not eligible for insurance, we welcome you all the same and are happy to provide any of the services you need.”
Castro hopes the on-campus clinic will bring much-needed relief to her community.
“Hopefully, we see more patients and they can get the services that they need or they’ve been wanting for a long time,” she said.
By bringing care closer to home, Castro is turning the page on health care access for herself, her school and her community.