LCCM History
In 1970, a Chicana/o student health organization was created at UCLA by a group of five Chicanas/os who realized the need for a group that could provide the moral support needed to endure and persevere the hardships of college life. They came together with the purpose of changing the health care system to better meet the needs of underserved communities.
Formerly known as Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine (CCM), LCCM has grown tremendously over the past years. It is an organization with strong leadership and large membership who is dedicated to the original cause: providing better health care to the Chicanx/Latinx communities. LCCM is organized to include recruitment, retention, peer counseling and community service projects. We realize that Chicanx/Latinx health care rests in our hands, therefore our purpose is more than just being admitted to health professional schools. By providing the best medical treatment to underserved communities, our members are destined to be the leaders and role models of tomorrow. As we prepare ourselves for professional schools, we know that our struggle is not just for ourselves, but for our families and communities.
As an undergraduate Chicanx/Latinx pre-health/pre-med organization committed to improving the quality of the health care system available to our communities, our goals are the following:
- To recruit and retain Chicanx / Latinx students by providing academic and moral support to those who express an interest in the healthcare professions.
- To educate and develop a greater awareness of the healthcare problems and issues existing in critically underserved areas.
- To provide health services and education to the Chicanx/Latinx communities by conducting various community projects.
- To increase health care delivery to the underserved Chicanx/Latinx population by returning to our communities and serving our people as trained health professionals.
The Need
Historically, Chicanx/Latinx along with additional minority groups have carried a disproportionate share of society's problems. Even today, in one of the most technologically advanced societies, we continue to suffer in all areas including inadequate access to health care. Minorities have a higher rate of almost every disease and miss more days of work due to illness and disability than all other groups. Furthermore, Chicanx and Latinx compose 27% of the U.S population and yet only about 5% are physicians. Besides having to compete for limited health services, Chicanx/Latinx suffer the added burden of coping with monolingual, monocultural health professionals who are ambivalent to their patient's language and cultural needs. To change this insufficiency we must produce health care professionals committed to serving these communities.