Diving Back to Community Health: Familiar Waters in an Unfamiliar Country
Ricco Iglesias
3rd Year, Master in Business Administration and Health Services Administration
Before graduate school, I worked for four years in community health – two years as a Project Manager focused on reducing mental health disparities in Solano County, California, and another two years as a Community Health Worker conducting emergency preparedness training and COVID-19 response with the City of Berkeley. Since starting graduate school in Fall 2021, I haven’t worked in community health settings…until the opportunity came up with Public Health in Action – Grenada.
My name is Ricco Iglesias, and I am a third-year graduate student pursuing my degrees
in business (MBA) and health management & policy (MHSA) with a penchant for working
with people and working towards health equity. As someone ready to return to the workforce
and leave the Ann Arbor winters, I told myself to do less work this semester…but here
I am today, working alongside a new team, developing collaboration norms, and learning
about blood donation infrastructure in the Caribbean. I’ve worked in various community
health settings before, but to have the opportunity to establish guidelines for Grenada’s
blood donation program is a chance I didn’t want to miss.
Driven by my experiences as a first-generation Filipino immigrant, I pursued public
health to impact underserved communities and make healthcare accessible and affordable;
this partnership with Red Cross Grenada will do just that. An ongoing supply of blood
is absolutely important to the healthcare system. With a global shortage of blood
supply, especially in low- and middle-income countries, having an effective blood
donation program is critical to save people’s lives. I’m extremely excited to work
with Red Cross Grenada to understand the current state of blood donation in the country
and how our team can develop culturally relevant and community-driven guidelines to
establish Grenada’s blood donation program. This won’t be an easy task, especially
when there’s a stigma associated with donating and infusing blood. Nevertheless, my
team is up to the task, and we’re already brainstorming on the best ways to prepare
so that when we land in Grenada, we can be as effective as possible in getting to
know community members and their perspectives. I hope to learn not just about blood
donation programs, but how these programs can be adapted to Grenada and the greater
Caribbean.
It’s been a while since I’ve worked directly in community health. Since pausing from
fulltime employment and starting graduate school, I’ve devoted my time to classes
and exploring what Michigan has to offer to a Midwestern transplant. By the end of
PHIA and this collaboration with Red Cross Grenada, I hope to reignite my passion
for working with the community on the ground – as a reminder of why I went to graduate
school in the first place: working towards a more affordable and accessible healthcare
for all.