Hello! I’m Johanna Arguello-Garcia and I am currently a rising senior at Brown University studying Economics on the public policy track. I am particularly interested in health economics because of the direct impact this area has on daily life. Many times, economic policies that seem harmless can have long-lasting ramifications on a person’s life and health.
My interest to study health economics is reinforced by my experiences as part of the Latinx community in the Rio Grande Valley region in South Texas. My hometown region has some of the worse health outcomes in the nation. There are many problems related to obesity and a high incidence of heart and kidney disease in the community. The correlation between the higher poverty rates, lower educational attainment, and lower health outcomes in my community made me interested in studying the history of economic policies contributing to such healthcare patterns.
However, after my grandfather, Arafin, got diagnosed with advanced chronic kidney disease, I saw that these patterns in the Rio Grande Valley were also due in part to the flawed delivery of healthcare. Seeing the style of healthcare delivery through the negative experience of loved ones made me see that there was an improvement to be made in hospital administration, medical training, electronic health records, and the medical billing system.
I clearly remember my family members and I tirelessly advocating for my grandfather’s health at hospitals and clinics. We felt like our voices were not heard by this large powerful health system and felt lost about his end-of-life treatment at the hospital. Therefore, the mission of C-TAC is very meaningful to me.
My experiences with healthcare have shaped my career and life. At Brown, I have delved into public health and economics courses to prepare myself to one day create improvement in U.S. healthcare delivery. Outside of class, I’ve worked as a Connect for Health advocate, following up on patients and connecting them to social programs in Rhode Island. Recognizing the importance of nonprofits to create change, I’ve also gained experience in philanthropy at Jobs to Move America and as a non-profit consulting analyst for the Global Research and Consulting Group at Brown!
There are a lot of improvements to be made for people dealing with chronic and advanced illnesses, and I believe my policy internship at C-TAC will best prepare me to one day improve people’s relationships with the healthcare system.
Thank you for reading my story! Feel free to contact me at johanna_arguello-garcia@brown.edu or connect with me on LinkedIn.
