Early-Career PA William Lara Aims to Provide Care to the Underserved Community in Rural Nevada

“My experiences in PA school helped solidify my decision to help the underserved.”

September 19, 2025

By Jennifer Walker

William Lara’s career path was set in motion when he received a serious health diagnosis as an eight-year-old child more than 20 years ago. After having two months of unexplained symptoms, Lara,  now a recent graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) School of Medicine PA Studies Program, was ultimately diagnosed with a spinal tumor in the lumbar region. He received this diagnosis at a hospital in St. George, Utah, about 45 minutes away from the rural town of Mesquite, Nevada, where he grew up.

In the early 2000s, healthcare access was a challenge in Mesquite. There was one primary care physician for a population of more than 20,000 people, and the community didn’t have a hospital at the time. There were many Spanish-speaking residents, including Lara’s parents, who immigrated from Mexico, so language barriers with the local English-speaking provider were also a hindrance.

When Lara’s symptoms began, his parents took him to the local physician first with him acting as a translator. But his tests came back normal and there wasn’t any indication that the provider should look more closely at his back. Then, Lara tripped one day while rollerblading and his back slammed against a curb.

“The fall gave the medical providers a reason to go searching for something in my back,” said Lara. “They did a CT scan, and that’s when they found the mass.”

After this diagnosis, Lara’s family had to take him to a metropolitan area for surgery and follow-up care. They chose to go to Las Vegas, which is about an hour away from Mesquite. There, Lara was inspired by his neurosurgeon and his care team to pursue a career in medicine. He graduated from the PA program at UNR in August 2025.

“My end goal is to return back to Mesquite and take care of the community,” he said. “Especially in Nevada, where there are a bunch of rural towns spread out between Vegas and Reno, I want to help bridge that gap in healthcare.”

[See Lara and other PAs who go beyond on AAPA’s new Nationwide PA Impact Map!]

A Surgeon Inspires a Healthcare Career
In early 2001, eight-year-old Lara began having a hard time sitting still. He felt like he had to clench his glute muscles all the time. His gait changed, and he began walking with a wider stance. At night, he couldn’t fall asleep.

“The only way I could ever feel comfortable was when one of my parents was in bed with me and they literally had to massage my glutes until I fell asleep,” he said. “Sometimes it would take an hour, and it was every single night without fail. My parents worked full-time jobs, and it started to take a toll on them.”

Soon after receiving his diagnosis in St. George, Lara went to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas for treatment. This is where he met Dr. Agada, his neurosurgeon, whom he liked immediately. “Even though my parents were there, he always spoke to me,” Lara said. “He always made me feel heard and seen and listened to as an eight-year-old kid.”

In April 2001, Dr. Agada removed the entire tumor in Lara’s back. Lara spent the next three weeks in the hospital, where it took him about a week to relearn how to walk. After he was discharged, he continued to receive follow-up care in Las Vegas for the next several years.

It was soon after his surgery, though, when Lara received life-altering news. Dr. Agada had a heart attack the day after he performed Lara’s surgery, and he passed away.

“I was his last patient,” said Lara. “I’m very spiritual and to me that was a big sign. I think I was put in this world to try to help others the way he helped me. This is a big part of why I went into medicine.”

A Champion for the Underserved
In 2017, Lara was introduced to the physician associate profession while working as a medical scribe at a local hospital in Reno. He had been pre-med in his undergraduate years and planned to become a physician. But, in his five years working as a scribe, he learned he could arrive at his ultimate career goal—caring for the community in Mesquite—by becoming a PA.

As a student in the PA program at UNR, Lara quickly began caring for underserved populations. He volunteered at a free student outreach clinic on the UNR campus, which was run by student providers and served uninsured, underinsured, and undocumented patients.

Lara also did a pediatric rotation at Community Health Alliance (CHA), a federally-qualified health center in Reno. There, he worked primarily with a Spanish-speaking Hispanic population. Lara found he could relate to these patients, which helped in building relationships. He remembers having conversations with one young patient and his parents about weight. The parents thought their son was having challenges with weight because he drank one soda every day. But Lara explained that a lot of foods that are common in Hispanic culture—rice, tortillas, heavy meats, and fats—could also affect one’s body composition.

“I was able to say, ‘Listen, this is how I grew up eating as well. I really know what you’re talking about,’” he said. “For patients, they’re able to see that this provider truly gets where they’re coming from. Once patients feel that way, it opens a whole new door for them to talk to you about other health problems that may come up in the future.”

In November, Lara will start his first job as a PA at CHA. He plans to stay in Reno for a few years so he can gain a solid foundation before returning to Mesquite and opening his own practice. In his hometown, the healthcare landscape has changed since he was a child—now there is a hospital, a women’s health provider, and three primary care providers—but the town is still in need of providers to serve this community of nearly 24,000 people spread out across 32 square miles.

“My experiences in PA school helped solidify my decision to help the underserved,” Lara said. “I feel very fulfilled when I come home at the end of the day, like I made a difference in someone’s life who really needed it.”

Jennifer Walker is a freelance writer in Baltimore, MD. Contact Jennifer at [email protected].

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