A diverse student body in medical programs is essential to the future of medical care in this country, and diversity is a key goal Kim Johnston, president of Methodist College, has pursued through a variety of wide-ranging programs since she was named to her position in 2006.

“During my time here, we try to approximate the community” in terms of demographics, she said.

Johnston oversaw the school’s move to its new campus. Once housed in the old Ramada Inn near Interstate 74 in downtown Peoria, Methodist College now occupies a newly renovated campus that was once the site of the American TV & Appliance store near Shoppes at Grand Prairie. The school has classrooms, labs, a simulation center, library, study areas, café and bookstore. A new residence hall has 115 units. As recruitment expands, students are able to live on campus.

Under her leadership, school enrollment and faculty have increased. There are professional tutors on the faculty to help students who are struggling. Enrollment was about 150 in 2006. It is now 680 (315 full time and 365 part time) but the new facility can accommodate 1,000 with room to expand beyond that.

Currently, the student body is 87 percent female and 13 percent male; 17 percent are minority students.

With a diverse student body, teaching tolerance and ethics are important, Johnston said.

The school recently announced it received a four-year, $1.5 million grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide 20 scholarships for minority students. Student recruitment at the school has been expanding and ongoing since Johnston assumed a leadership role. Part of the recruitment effort is an explorer program made up of junior and senior high school students who meet once a month at the college and explore health careers with hands-on activities. The school looks for students who might have thought college was not in their future.

“Maybe their ACT or GPA was not at the exact level, but we also include an (admissions) essay about why they want to be a nurse, and we look at the heart behind that essay,” she said.

Johnston’s own background has proven to her the success of diversity and community outreach. After earning her master’s degree and before earning her doctorate, she worked with a visiting nurse association in Pennsylvania helping pregnant women and young mothers.

“We had phenomenal outcomes preventing premature births and child abuse,” she said. But even with terrific data to support the program, it became a victim of politics.

“Historically, women and children do not have much of a voice,” she said.

The school has expanded recruitment beyond the Peoria area to the suburbs of Chicago, western Iowa, Missouri and southern Illinois.

One benefit of diversity is knowing how to reach segments of the community often shut out of health care. Women in the African-American community have a deep-seated distrust of health care and have lower rates of mammography and higher rates of breast cancer, Johnston said. When African-American health care workers go to neighborhoods to discuss the importance of mammography, usage increases.

The school has expanded and includes a number of certificate programs, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and addition advanced degree programs are under development. A degree in social work will start next year.

“Philosophically, all students thrive and do better with diversity. It enriches the educational experience and expands their understanding,” Johnston said.

It doesn’t help when the medical profession is dominated by one or two demographics.

“The richness of our country is because our country is heterogeneous. Homogeneous countries never do as well,” she said. “The U.S. is made up of all backgrounds” and the healthcare profession should reflect that.

Denise Moore, Peoria City Councilwoman representing District 1, said diversity is not just a social goal but an economic goal as well.

“What we have to do as a society is to be sure we get students to Dr. Johnston. Getting behind Alignment Peoria is a great start. We have to educate and graduate students eligible to go on to higher education,” Moore said. “Diversity has an important social impact, but it also has an important educational and economic impact.”

Alignment Peoria is a collaboration with Peoria Public Schools and other educational resources in the community.

Moore recently filed her petition to run again to represent District 1.