LASA gathered in February to consider Health and Human Rights in Los Angeles. We visited Dr. Cynthia Willard, Medical Director of Program for Torture Victims and consultant for the USC-Keck Human Rights Clinic.
Dr. Willard’s critical and life-changing work broadened our understandings of the relationship between healthcare and law. Daniel P. shared, “This most recent LASA trip was my favorite by far. Meeting Dr. Willard and hearing her work as well as seeing the hospital she works in was an awesome experience. I learned facts that I did not know about, such as the high obesity rates in poorer areas of LA.” Katie added, “Dr. Willard’s work is very impressive, and she taught me a lot about the function of medical care in California and specifically Los Angeles. I was particularly intrigued by the relationship between immigration and healthcare as it relates to insurance and the legislation surrounding that.”
After lunch, Huntington Molina Curator for the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences Joel Klein showed us rare books and objects from The Huntington’s collection. Students expressed that they were largely “unaware of how many important and ancient books the Huntington Library had.” Also, LASA appreciated his enthusiasm for his work.
Although we had to cancel March’s LASA, we plan to meet online in April to continue our work together.