The key to good health?

DAWN BOOKHARDT, J.D., MAKES A TRANSFORMATIONAL GIFT TO EDUCATE A DIVERSE SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND HEARING WORKFORCE.

By Lynne Winter

Attorney and activist Dawn Bookhardt, J.D., is dedicated to helping Metropolitan State University of Denver educate a diverse health care workforce in the fields of speech, language and hearing.

The chair of the MSU Denver Foundation board of directors recently made a transformational $1 million gift toward the construction of a 70,000-square-foot health education building that will allow the University to bring its health-related academic programs under one roof.

In 2018, the University created its Health Institute, a collaboration among 10 academic departments focused on health and wellness. While the academic institute has been in place for five years, centralized physical space has been harder to come by. So MSU Denver is pursuing state funding and fundraising opportunities to increase its capacity to serve students.

That includes students in MSU Denver’s Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences program, an area of health care near and dear to Bookhardt. Her gift will also help support the Bookhardt Family Speech and Language Clinic within the Health Institute facility. The clinic was recently renamed in Bookhardt’s honor.

“I want to change the dynamics of speech, hearing and language education and careers for people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds to know they can be part of it,” said Bookhardt, a longtime MSU Denver supporter. “I’m putting my money where my mouth is.”

What does that mean for patient health?

Mounting evidence suggests that patients prefer health care providers who can understand their background and cultural norms. Yet a 2019 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association report revealed that 92% of its members who were speech-language pathologists identified as white. In contrast, racially minoritized groups comprise about 40% of the U.S. population, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences program and newly built clinic at MSU Denver will aid in closing that gap by educating students who diversify the field and provide patients with an experience that improves overall health outcomes.