THE SOCIAL INNOVATOR

Washington is the first state in the U.S. to pass legislation and implement an earned benefit to make long-term care affordable for all working people. The WA Cares Fund is an innovative program funded by the state government to address a looming long-term care crisis.

As Provider Network Capacity Program manager under the executive branch of the state government, KPU alum Rimi Afroze is overseeing the statewide provider adequacy building, contract executing and monitoring along with quality control of all types of services provided under the program.

In a state with more than 7.7 million people, making long-term care affordable for everyone in Washington will be crucial. Seventy per cent of Washingtonians over the age of 65 will need longterm services and supports within their lifetimes. Afroze and her team are working hard to ensure the wide range of long-term services and supports the benefit covers – such as professional care and equipment, meal delivery and transportation –are in place when benefits become available in 2026.

“It's going to be a revolutionary program, but there will be a quite a bit of work to reach that milestone,” she explains. “Implementation of the program will require a lot of out-of-thebox thinking and a lot of cooperation and collaboration with community organizations and with all the different stakeholders.”

While getting the program off the ground can be tedious work, leading the WA Cares Fund is exactly the kind of social impact Afroze has always hoped to have.

“My passion is supporting communities and working for the population who has been marginalized or disadvantaged,” she explains. “One of the reasons that I took this opportunity is because it's serving all levels of working Washingtonians and it’s really a disruptive innovation, and something that has not been done before.”

Working towards equity in healthcare has been a driving force throughout Afroze’s career. Originally from Bangladesh, she started medical school at the University of Pittsburgh with a goal of helping underserved communities. But in the middle of studies, her daughter was born extremely premature, and Afroze paused her education to care for her child.

While pursuing her studies seemed insurmountable during those years, Afroze never gave up on her dream of a career making a difference for those in need. Motivated by her experiences – as a parent of an ill child and as an immigrant – and after a move to Vancouver to be closer to family, Afroze decided to return to her passion for health and wellness.

“It took quite a bit of time for me to gather courage and come back to my education,” she says. “I wanted something that would give me exposure to the research and to mentors and to have a more interactive education.”

That, she says, attracted her to the health sciences program at KPU, where she found a lifelong mentor in Dr. Karen Davidson.

“Dr. Davidson has been phenomenal in guiding me,” says Afroze. “She supported me and held my hand throughout my journey at KPU and also in my career, helping me to find ways to make myself more resourceful, more knowledgeable.”

Afroze says the opportunities to participate in research projects helped deepen her understanding of the barriers certain populations face in healthcare and her resolve to do something about it. The awards and support she received from her professors and peers at KPU, she says, were instrumental in motivating her to keep going.

“I think KPU has very much shaped the path toward my career. I have been extremely blessed with having that opportunity to be engaged with so many diverse, talented people there.”

She encourages new students to seek out all the supports available to them and make the most of the opportunities presented to them. “The opportunities at KPU are enormous,” she says. “The curriculum and the fast-paced learning can be challenging. But the education you're going to get is real, and it's going to help you in your career.”

After being the first graduate from the health sciences program, having graduated with honours in 2018, Afroze took a job with Neighbourhood House in the Seattle region, where she oversaw the Medicaid program for almost 1,200 elderly and disabled people in South King County and a team of more than 20 people.

Afroze, who also has a master’s in healthcare leadership from the Western Governors University, is currently preparing for a PhD in healthcare administration. And while she has her sights set on having a greater impact in her career, her original reason for entering her field remains unchanged.

“All of the work that I have done has been grounded in the needs of communities, refugees, new immigrants and people who are historically marginalized or facing racism. Working toward diversity and inclusion has been my passion in building a career all along.” 