Dr. Jirayut “New” Latthivongskorn, MD, MPH, 2021年维尔切克医疗人文主义金奖获得者, 直接了解美国人文关怀的障碍.
Today, Latthivongskorn是扎克伯格旧金山综合医院和创伤中心(ZSFG)家庭和社区医学的住院医师。. “能够在这里为患者群体服务是一种巨大的荣幸，”他说. “我们认为自己是社区需求方面的专家, 我们可以做些不同的事情来帮助人们康复.这个项目被吸引到这里，是因为它为服务不足的群体提供照顾和服务, particularly undocumented immigrants, persons experiencing homelessness, and low-income communities.
Born in Thailand, Latthivongskorn was 9 years old when his family immigrated to the United States; his parents made the decision to move after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, seeking better economic opportunities.
Growing up in an immigrant community, 在美国，Latthivongskorn与正规的医疗保健系统几乎没有互动. As undocumented immigrants, 他的家人担心与这些机构接触的高成本和潜在风险. “If we went to the hospital, what would that look like? They would ask for documentation; we don’t have any,” he said. “How much would it cost? We definitely weren’t insured.”
当Latthivongskorn十几岁的时候，他的母亲需要做手术. As the youngest of his siblings, Latthivongskorn负责和她一起参加医生的预约, interpreting between Thai and English for his mother, and for the doctors and nurses providing her care. 他感到沮丧和困惑，并质疑能做些什么来改善这个系统.
A seed was planted. 他开始致力于追求一种职业，在这种职业中，他可以为移民同胞辩护，并为这一经常被忽视的人群提供文化上合适的、可获得的医疗保健.
他在正规欧洲杯买球网站伯克利分校完成了本科学位. In 2010, he earned a scholarship from Immigrants Rising, 一个致力于支持无证学生接受高等教育的组织. 在一次奖学金招待会上，拉特西翁斯科恩遇到了丹尼斯·罗哈斯·马尔克斯和安吉尔·古. 三人很快因共同的经历而联系在一起.
“When we first started talking,” Latthivongskorn said, “we shared these visions for who we wanted to become. 那是我第一次真正体验到什么是社区.”
In 2012, the three founded Pre-Health Dreamers (PHD). 设想为一个共享信息的网络，关于如何进入和申请医学院作为无证学生, PHD has grown and evolved. Now comprising more than 1,全国各地的会员和联盟组织, PHD serves not only as a resource, community, and information-sharing network, 但作为无证学生追求健康和科学事业的倡导者.
Empowered by his experiences with Immigrants Rising, Latthivongskorn在亚裔美国人促进正义的亚洲法律核心小组(AAJC-ALC)实习。, 并在“ASPIRE”(该组织下属的无证亚裔和太平洋岛民权益倡导组织)中担任领导职务. 与ASPIRE的合作启发了Latthivongskorn通过集体行动和倡导来组织的方法-他将这些工具带到他的博士和ZSFG工作中. 他在哈佛大学完成了公共卫生硕士学位.H. Chan School of Public Health; with an emphasis on policy, 拉蒂翁斯科恩的研究为他奠定了基础，使他了解了如何制定和倡导支持更大公平的政策.
表彰他在提供公平和可及的医疗保健方面做出的杰出贡献, Latthivongskorn receives the 2021 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare alongside his PHD cofounder Rojas Marquez. 维尔切克基金会和阿诺德P. Gold Foundation, 该奖项旨在表彰杰出的移民医疗保健专业人员，他们的工作表现出对人文关怀的承诺. Past recipients include U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha.
