ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — In emergency rooms across Central Florida, Dr. Tracy McIntosh has spent years caring for patients during their most critical moments.
Her work, however, extends far beyond the bedside and into education, mentorship, and advocacy.
MacIntosh is committed to going beyond just treating patients by expanding access to care and opening doors for the next generation of doctors.
“I didn’t see myself reflected in the physicians that I had caring for me when I was growing up, and so I didn’t see myself belonging in healthcare,” said MacIntosh.
The Yale-trained physician says the lack of representation she experienced early in life helped shape both her career path and her purpose.
“There are great minds, great hearts, and future leaders in health care in every single high school, in every single zip code, and every community in America,” she said.
Today, she serves as Associate Dean for Access, Belonging, and Community Engagement at the UCF College of Medicine, where she mentors students who may never have imagined a future in medicine.
She believes representation does more than change the appearance of healthcare. She says it directly improves the delivery of care.
“If you have a shared background, shared lived experience, you grew up in the same kind of community, folks connect better,” she said. “That’s just how human beings are.”
That belief was shaped by what Dr. McIntosh witnessed firsthand in the disparities affecting Black women in healthcare.
“Why in America, the richest country, do we see Black women dying from childbirth at rates three to five times higher than white women in the same hospital? That was my why for medicine,” she said.
As Black History Month continues, Dr. McIntosh says building a more equitable healthcare system begins with inspiring young people to believe they belong in positions of leadership and influence.
“If you see problems in your community and you’re asking why, then you have enough in your heart and in your mind to become a leader and create the solutions.”
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