CSUN Health Prof Appointed to LA City Health Commission
Photo courtesy of Salvador Esparza.
California State University, Northridge health administration professor Salvador Esparza was recently appointed to the Los Angeles City Health Commission, where he represents the 12th Council District which includes Porter Ranch, Canoga Park and Northridge.
Esparza, who has more than 30 years of experience as a health care administrator for various health organizations, said he is looking forward to expanding the commission’s understanding of health care needs.
The panel, which is charged with understanding the public’s health needs and finding ways to meet those needs in an efficient and effective manner, is an exciting frontier for Esparza to help bring different perspectives.
“Health is much more than a doctor’s visit,” he said. “It is having a safe place to walk, proper access to job routes and having healthy food available. I’m excited to be a part of the commission and bring my perspective to the table.”
Esparza’s passion for educating people on providing effective health delivery began at CSUN.
“It was a calling, more than anything else,” he said. “One of my driving forces into getting involved in academia was that I observed a lot of competence, but also, unfortunately, incompetence in health administration. I felt it was my responsibility to educate students who would be effective leaders in the health administration fields.”
With the commission, Esparza hopes his perspective and background, as the associate director for CSUN’s Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing, will promote a more community-based understanding of health care.
“A lot of my research is in organization development and behavior,” he said. “Because of my involvement with [CSUN’s] Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing, its goals very nicely align with the goals of the commission. My focus is to bring a broader perspective of delivering health care services to the community, and defining the public’s need for it.”
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