By Lara Cooper
First published December 22, 2025 by Direct Relief
Addressing the shortage of health workers and ensuring those workers are connected to the communities they serve is at the heart of a San Diego training program doing just that, one graduate at a time.
The Laura Rodriguez Medical Assistant Institute, or LRMAI, is an education and training program of Family Health Centers of San Diego, which provides primary health care and more across the county. Many of the trainees have been patients at the health center, and can help deliver culturally relevant, high-quality health and supportive services to the diverse populations served.
The health center is among the 10 largest in the U.S., serving over 160,000 patients a year and more than 1 million visits annually. The organization operates 49 sites throughout San Diego County, including primary care, behavioral health, outpatient substance use disorder treatment, dental and vision services, a mobile counseling center, and a safety-net pharmacy.
The training program aims to reduce the shortage of medical assistants across the health care industry by improving educational access and opportunities for those that health centers serve.
“By 2030, we are going to be facing a nursing shortage nationally of about 63,000 nurses,” said Pauline Lucatero, LRMAI’s Chief Academic Administrator. Lucatero is also Vice President of Community Affairs for the Family Health Centers of San Diego and a registered nurse.
Since 2023, 119 students have graduated from the program, and three-quarters of those graduates have been hired by the health center. Students go through more than 700 hours of training on both administrative and clinical medical assisting in the classroom, skills lab, and extern site settings.
The clinical externship is eight weeks long and gives the students the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice. After completion of the program, students take a certification exam, and graduates are then prepared to fill entry-level positions as clinical or administrative medical assistants.
“I love that this program provides quality education and opens up doors… I hope this is just the beginning for them,” she said of the graduates.
Anthony Vasquez, a graduate of the LRMAI program, said that at the start of the program, he wondered whether he should be there at all. “I thought to myself, ‘What business do I have in the medical field?’ he recalled.
With the support of his instructors, he continued and is now working as a medical assistant at the health center.
“In such a short amount of time, you could be making such a difference in the lives of people,” he said of the program. “I get to help others, and I am so proud of that.”
Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity, via the AbbVie Foundation, provided funds to support the Laura Rodriguez Medical Assistant Institute.
Watch this video to learn more about the training program:
Related Articles
Six-Month Update: Los Angeles Wildfires Response
Considered the most destructive in California history, the wildfires decimated entire neighborhoods, leaving thousands of people displaced and in distress. From International Medical Corps.
Redefining Mental Health Care with Peer Support in LA County Jails
The Los Angeles County jail system’s innovative peer mental health program has grown from a small pilot to serve over 400 patients, becoming a model for correctional facilities nationwide.
The New Kind of Volunteer Firefighter
How a brigade of locals became a key force in protecting people from the L.A. fires. From Harvard Public Health.