Virginia Commonwealth University’s five health science schools are committing $4 million to enroll and train more minority students in an effort to increase the diversity, equity and inclusivity of health care in Virginia and beyond.

In announcing its award last week, the MCV Foundation noted that the funds will be distributed across four years to enable the schools to recruit “highly qualified students” from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds for the College of Health Professions and the VCU schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.

“Improving diversity, equity and access in health care delivery, research and education sits at the core of everything we do,” said Margaret Ann Bollmeier, president and CEO of the MCV Foundation, in a news release.

“The health care workforce — whether in specific communities or on a global scale — should feature the same diversity as the people it serves,” she noted. “We’re confident our MCV Campus partners will use this award to affect significant change in moving toward that goal.”

Currently, more than 4,100 students are enrolled in a health sciences program at VCU for the 2022 to 2023 academic year, and account for about 15 percent of VCU’s total student body.

Underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities among health care professionals is an ongoing problem in the U.S. Research has shown that racial and ethnic minorities continue to experience greater incidences of disease and earlier mortality, and some health care professionals diagnose and treat patients differently based on their race or ethnicity,” the news release states.

According to VCU’s health sciences deans, there is compelling evidence that increasing the number of health care providers from diverse backgrounds is a critical step to building health equity, improving access to health care, improving health outcomes and providing better patient‐centered care.