WHEREAS, The Latino and Latina population in the United States will rise from 42,000,000 individuals in 2005 to 128,000,000 individuals by 2050, and Latinos and Latinas comprise 60 percent of the population growth in the United States; and

WHEREAS, According to the “2020 Census Profile of California” released by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund in 2021, the Latino and Latina population in California grew from 14,000,000 to 15,600,000 between 2010 and 2020, an 11.2 percent increase that accounted for more than two-thirds of the state’s population growth during that decade; and

WHEREAS, As of 2021, Latinos and Latinas make up almost 40 percent of California’s population; and

WHEREAS, By 2050, Latinos and Latinas will account for more than one in four individuals in the United States and one in three children in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Only 6 percent of physicians in the United States are Latino or Latina, and only 7 percent of physicians in California are Latino or Latina; and

WHEREAS, Only 2 percent of physicians in the United States are Latina; and

WHEREAS, The Latino and Latina population faces significant barriers to medical care, including high poverty, fewer facilities in Latino and Latina communities, and language and cultural barriers; and

WHEREAS, A lack of diversity in the medical field leads to worse health outcomes for Latino and Latina patients, including higher rates of chronic disease and maternal mortality; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that when physicians are of the same ethnicity, culture, and language as the patients of those physicians, care and outcomes improve; and

WHEREAS, The first National Latino and Latina Physician Day occurred across the United States on October 1, 2022, and was supported by multiple national organizations and the Latino and Latina community, including premedical students, resident physicians, and attending physicians; and

WHEREAS, Federal support for the continued designation of October 1 as National Latino and Latina Physician Day is expressed in House Resolution No. 734 of the 118th Congress; and

WHEREAS, The designation of October 1, 2024, as California Latino and Latina Physician Day will bring awareness to the benefits Latino and Latina physicians brings to the growing Latino and Latina population and the health of the State of California; now, therefore, be it