Katie Fruin

Katie Fruin
Katie Fruin

Katie Fruin

Health Equity Challenge 2024 Finalist

PROJECT: A veteran’s garden that increases access to safe outdoor spaces for veterans to heal and gain support navigating post-service life and employment, and access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables to support their health needs.

 

Katie Fruin, MD, is a recent graduate of the UCLA Internal Medicine VA-Primary Care program and currently pursuing her Master of Science in Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health through UCLA’s Preventive Medicine fellowship.

Fruin is passionate about leveraging economic development as a pathway to improving population health. Among her areas of interest is how the rise of diet-related disease can be mitigated through creating employment across the food system and subsidies that promote access to heathy, nutritious food.

Through the Health Equity Challenge, she looks forward to learning from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research team and other finalists about innovative strategies to promote health equity.

During my fourth year of medical school, someone I loved passed away from suicide. While I cycled through different stages of grief, I realized I had to stop asking myself, ‘What could I have done differently?’ and instead start asking, ‘What can I do differently?’ At the time, I was also navigating the residency application process. As I traveled across the country interviewing, it became clear that the health system most passionate about suicide prevention and treating complex trauma was the Veterans Health Administration.

Katie Fruin