Health Equity

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated healthcare disparities that prevent people from living healthy lives. According to the CDC, heath equity will be achieved when every person has the opportunity to attain their "full health potential," and no one is "disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances."

Barriers to heath equity can include:

• socioeconomic status
• lack of insurance or underinsurance
• race and ethnicity
• age
• geographic region

Education Access

Healthcare practitioners that represent their local population positively impact patient experiences and healthcare outcomes. In Lake County high schools, 85% of students in our highest hardship zones identify as black or Latinx—populations that historically have limited access to nursing education.

Addressing equity & Access in our communities

RFU and Lake Forest College are keenly aware of the struggles faced by low-income, medically underserved people in the Chicago metropolitan area. Residents of the communities surrounding our university face some of the highest poverty levels and lowest educational attainment in the county.

The NEW Pathway program is designed to combat health inequities by empowering diverse students with a nursing education that prepares them for successful careers in their communities.