Every workday, as he has for the last 13 years, Donte Huddleston drives from his home in Compton to report to duty as a custodian in Los Angeles County’s cash-strapped public healthcare system. It was through his work on the wards—cleaning restrooms, stripping floors, delivering supplies—that Donte became inspired by the work of the County’s nurses, and decided to pursue a career as an operating room nurse. So, in addition to his work and family responsibilities, the 34-year old African American father and de facto coach attends classes three times a week at El Camino College’s registered nursing program, studying pathophysiology, pharmacology, disease processes and the essentials of bedside care. That he has the time and energy to dedicate to such an endeavor is a testament to precisely the type of individual who has chosen to dedicate their career to serving the County’s poor and uninsured, for in addition to raising their own three school-age children he and his wife have recently obtained custody of his sisters 9-year old daughter and toddler twin boys.  Read the Full Article