Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan has awarded $80,000 in scholarships to Family Health Centers of San Diego’s (FHCSD) education and training program. The scholarships will support the Laura Rodriguez Medical Assistant Institute’s (LRMAI) efforts to train future health care workers from the San Diego community and help address a local workforce shortage.
To date, LRMAI has graduated six cohorts of medical assistants, totaling 118 alumni, with the majority working at FHCSD and other health care organizations across the region.
Pauline Lucatero, LRMAI’s chief academic officer, said the scholarships will contribute to workforce development in the San Diego community. “These scholarships are an investment in people and in the future of community health care across our region. By expanding access to medical assistant training, it opens doors to meaningful careers, strengthens the health care workforce, and helps ensure that every San Diegan can access the care they need when and where they need it.”
The scholarships from Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan were announced at the November Spirit of the Barrio Luncheon, which brought together 350 community members and panelists for a discussion on the benefits of workforce development.
On Dec. 16, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan also sponsored an open house at LRMAI. The event provided prospective students with the opportunity to tour the institute, hear from alumni and meet faculty members as the program begins accepting applications for its seventh cohort, which starts Jan. 26. Paul Vota, senior director of strategic programs, and Jason Moore, principal program manager at Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, were also in attendance to meet prospective students and discussed this unique opportunity.
Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan is a managed care organization, wholly owned by Blue Shield of California, offering Medi-Cal. It is led by health care professionals with a member-first philosophy and committed to building a quality network of providers and partnering with community organizations for approximately 580,000 members across Los Angeles and San Diego counties. It was rated 4 out of 5 in NCQA’s Medicaid Health Plan Ratings 2024.
About LRMAI
The Laura Rodriguez Medical Assistant Institute was created to meet several mutual needs of the organization and the community:
- To introduce qualified medical assistants into the workforce to fill vacancies and help ensure there are adequate staff in ambulatory care services to meet the health care needs of our community,
- To offer career opportunities for all community members, including low-income populations,
- To recruit a workforce that is reflective of the community of patients that it serves.
About Family Health Centers of San Diego
Since 1970, FHCSD’s mission has been to provide caring, affordable, high-quality health care and supportive services to everyone, with a special commitment to uninsured, low-income and medically underserved persons. FHCSD is one of the top 10 largest federally qualified health centers in the country, operating more than 90 sites across San Diego County and providing care to more than 227,000 patients each year, of whom 91% are low-income and 29% are uninsured.
