The Digital Divide is a Care Divide: Inside the Fight for Latino Health Equity
HIT Like a Girl Pod: Empowering Women in Health ITShow Notes
In a digital-first healthcare world, who gets left behind? The answer is often the same communities that have always been marginalized. But what if the solution wasn't just to build better apps, but to empower the very people from these communities to become the navigators, the mentors, and the doctors of tomorrow?
In this inspiring and urgent episode of HIT Like a Girl, recorded at HLTH 2025, Joy Rios sits down with Dr. Jhaimy Fernandez and Dr. Yimdriuska (Gigi) Magan, the powerhouse founders of the nonprofit Alma First.
They pull back the curtain on the silent crises in healthcare: the dangerous gap for Spanish-speaking patients, the systemic barriers for Latino students, and the chilling reality for patients facing immigration threats.
This isn't just a conversation about mentorship; it's a blueprint for building a more equitable and culturally competent, and safe healthcare system from the ground up.
Drs. Fernandez and Magan reveal:
When the Clinic is No Longer a Sanctuary: The emergency protocols they've enacted to protect patients during ICE raids.
The Digital Divide is a Care Divide: Why translating an app isn't enough and the critical need for "digital navigators."
Telehealth as a Shield: How digital access becomes a lifeline when patients are too afraid to visit a clinic.
The Alma First Model: Training Latino pre-health students in digital health literacy to bridge the gap between their communities and the healthcare system.
AI's Invisible Bias: The urgent need for diverse clinicians to help build unbiased AI models and prevent perpetuating healthcare disparities.
This conversation is a powerful antidote to healthcare despair and a living example of how to code compassion directly into the future of medicine.
Listen now to meet the leaders who are not just dreaming of a more inclusive future—they are building it, one student at a time.
Episode Chapters:00:00 | The Alma First Mission02:30 | Personal Journeys05:39 | Student Success Stories08:34 | Digital Navigators11:25 | AI, Bias, and Diverse Clinicians14:05 | Protecting Patients17:03 | The Future of Alma First
👉 Learn, Partner, and Donate:
Visit their website: Alma First
Follow Dr. Fernandez’ journey on Instagram | LinkedIn
Follow Dr. Magan’s journey on Instagram | LinkedIn
🎧 This episode was recorded at the HLTH 2025. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities.
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