Central State University students visit Advocate Lutheran General Hospital as part of HBCU partnership

Seven students from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, visited Advocate Lutheran General Hospital on Feb. 3 to learn more about health care careers and opportunities at Advocate Health Care.

During their visit to the Park Ridge hospital, the students participated in a networking session with Lutheran General leaders, met with President Dia Nichols, checked out the hospital's simulation training center and toured hospital departments based on their interests, including the operating rooms, cardiac catheterization lab, HR department and more. The students also participated in a panel discussion with teammates representing three departments: research, community health and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Beyond the Lutheran General visit, Advocate Health is also sponsoring $10,000 in scholarships for CSU students interested in health care careers, as well as establishing a long-term relationship that includes on-campus career support such as lunch-and-learns and mock interviews, plus the opportunity to interview for summer internships at Advocate Health Care facilities.

More than 20% of CSU's students hail from Illinois, making the university an important partner in Advocate's work to increase recruitment and development of African American talent at its Chicago-area care sites.

The CSU relationship is part of Advocate Health's broader commitment to creating a pipeline of diverse and equitable talent by engaging students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country. As part of its HBCU initiative, the health care system is also partnering with Spelman College, Morehouse College and Florida A&M University.

"As industry leaders committed to building health equity in Illinois and beyond, we understand the critical importance of creating a workforce that represents the diversity of our communities," said Lutheran General President Dia Nichols, a graduate of South Carolina State University, an HBCU. "Representation in health care jobs improves access to care, ensures culturally relevant care and builds stronger clinician-patient relationships, all of which are connected to improved health outcomes."