Gladys Pico Gleason – West Michigan 25 most influential Latinos
Gladys Pico Gleason
Supervisor, Community Health Programs, More Life Mas Vida
Corewell Health
Gladys Pico Gleason has health care work written in her DNA and is on a mission of social justice through nursing.
Gleason began her nursing career at Trinity Health Clinica Santa Maria on Cesar Chavez Avenue and then moved to what was Spectrum Health Programa Puente before it was rebranded as Corewell Health More Life Mas Vida.
“My love for my community has led me to serve as a direct caregiver and now as a program supervisor of a chronic disease prevention program that has been intentionally created to reach the Latino community by providing culturally and linguistically relevant care,” she said.
Through her career, Gleason’s main focus has been equity in health care.She said Latinos often find themselves facing significant barriers to navigating the complex health care system because access to health related information in their preferred language and in a format that is easy to understand are not always provided.
Additionally, Spanish speaking patients are often not given as much detailed information as they should, which leads to poorer outcomes due to not having an understanding of their health status or treatment plans.
“One of my favorite things about community health is being able to teach complex health related material in a way that is easy to understand,” Gleason said. “Seeing the light in someone’s eyes when they understand something like high blood pressure or diabetes and feel confident enough to ask questions of their medical care providers is so rewarding.”
Growing up in a family of health care workers, Gleason was inspired by her father and grandfather who cared for the community in their respective medical practices in Puerto Rico. Additionally, her mother was an educator who served as a medical interpreter for migrant farm workers in Michigan.
“It was a combination of all of these influential people in my early years that set me on the course for public service specifically in health care and health equity advocacy,” she said.
