AltaMed Health Services' Ilan Shapiro is translating 'Medicalish' to help open health access

Ilan Shapiro, M.D., Medical Director of Health and Wellness, Education, AltaMed Health Services

Age: 39

Education: He received his medical degree from Universidad Anahuac in Mexico, where he is also an MBA candidate. He completed a residency in pediatrics at Chicago’s Mount Sinai Hospital.

About him: As the Medical Director of Health Education and Wellness (HEW) for AltaMed, a federally-qualified health center, Shapiro leads the strategic creation and implementation of programs and activities in the center's Southern California area. 

“The health and wellness education department [at AltaMed] has a structure of 72 people. We have a clinical and community arm. Before Covid-19, we were directly interacting with more than 20,000 patients through screenings, health fairs, group visits and, most importantly, translating Medicalish into a language that would culturally resonate with our patients.”

His team has launched digital care in underserved communities. “Utilizing diabetes group visits that are completely virtual was a dream.” With help and leadership from the digital care team, AltaMed was able to move all virtual visits to a federal, qualified health center.

During Covid, AltaMed’s wellness program (STOMP) has been advocating for children. In addition, a group of more than 15 community health specialists work to bridge the medical aspect of patient lives with social determinants of health and behavioral change. In addition, AltaMed has hosted virtual nutrition classes for school partners and videos for healthy cooking. Through the clinical group, AltaMed has touched almost 6,000 patients, almost 19,000 unique visits.

An active member of the Hispanic community, he sits on the advisory board for the Ventanillas de Salud (VDS), a program to expand healthcare for Mexican immigrants residing in the United States. He is also the West Coast co-chair for the National Hispanic Medical Association, and a board member of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California and Latina Strong.

Due to his work in the development of intervention programs that serve the health needs of migrant communities, he was invited to become a part of the White House Hispanic Policy Group in 2011, educating the Hispanic community on the Health Care Act Policy. He was also the first Hispanic physician to join on the board at the Sargent Shriver Center.

First job: Selling toys at age 14. He took the job for income—and as a chance to race his toy cars.  “I loved working there.”

Proudest accomplishment: Receiving the Ohtli award from the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs for changing the lives of Mexicans abroad. In addition, he served for more than 10 years as a Scout in Mexico—the place he attributes to building his leadership skills. Finally, he’s proud to be a founding member of the Mexican Secretary of Health and Foreign Affairs’ VSD task force.

Problem he’s most passionate about trying to solve: “Translating information in a fun and reliable way for the Hispano community.”

Book he recommends: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. The novel touches on family, doctors, patients, Africa and America, and exile. “We forget how healthcare was... Of course, there are so many headaches attached to it, but we cannot forget that even with technology and artificial intelligence, we are still human. This novel brings passion, laughter and a nostalgic sense of belonging to a pure wellness and human movement that needs to be integrated into daily practice of healthcare.”

Advice he would you give his younger self: “Don’t be afraid of falling. Scars are trophies of redemption, moments where you actually created a greater you. Those were moments that, from down on the ground, you stood up and continued your growth path. Don’t be afraid of creation. The more broken doors, the narrower the path becomes and the greater chance of success.”

What he’d do with his career if it wasn’t this: Serve as a diplomat in an international, multilateral body that was negotiating how to use technology to solve healthcare problems in developing countries.

Advice he’d give to healthcare leaders seeking to make a real impact on the systemic problems of racism: “We need to be honest with our feelings, thoughts and own our biases. At the moment when we understand that the biggest threat to our existence is the incapability to share a common goal of protection and health, we are doomed. I have not met someone in the sane mind that would not want to protect his/her family. We all want the same thing: security and wellness for our community. But we need to be represented, and be ready to serve and share our views, not only on social media, but in real life.”