"Nuestros Niños/Our Children Nuestra Comunidad" Leadership & Community Outreach Program

Since 1998, the Regional Center for Border Health, Inc. has conducted its annual "Nuestros Niños/Our Children Nuestra Comunidad" Leadership & Community Outreach Program and a Healthcare Community Census and Immunization Campaign in the border communities of San Luis, Gadsden, Somerton and Yuma, Arizona.

The RCBH's outreach campaign is a six-week door-to-door community based census designated to identify and collect information from underserved/disadvantaged families by working with a cadre of Community Outreach Workers/Promotoras and High School Students, participating in the summer Youth Training Program.

The community-based census targets; children in need of healthcare coverage, children under 36 months and school age children in need of immunizations, pregnant women in need of prenatal care, migrant families with no medical insurance in need of resources.

The Regional Center for Border Health, Inc. has incorporated the use of the Family Care Coordinators/Promotores de Salud as an effective mean of reaching families and helping them overcome barriers to accessing healthcare such as: language, fear of authority, illiteracy, lack of education and cultural differences. By training Promotores who are members of the community, RCBH, Inc. has been able to recognize and begin to address the need of quality healthcare for the underserved populations of South Yuma County.

Every Summer, the Regional Center for Border Health, Inc. (RCBH) sponsors the Nuestros Ninos Health Fair and Free Immunization Campaign, in the border communities of San Luis, Somerton and Yuma, Arizona. The Health Fair and Immunization Campaign are designed to provide families with information about local resources and enrollment into public assistance programs such as: healthcare coverage, cash assistance, SNAP, WIC and other needed resources. In addition, RCBH enrolls families into AHCCCS and KidsCare. If families do not qualify for AHCCCS, the RCBH staff enrolls families on the CAPAZ-MEX Medical Discount Network Program. The CAPAZ-MEX is a medical discount network designed to serve as a safety net for the uninsured families who do not qualify for AHCCCS or KidsCare and it has been in operation since 2000.

The 26th Annual "Nuestros Niños/Nuestra Comunidad" Healthcare Census Campaign in 2024 visited more than 3000 homes in Somerton and San Luis and reached 501 families. RCBH Promotores identified 557 children and 1131 adults and assisted these individual with the enrollment process into the KidsCare and AHCCCS Programs. We hope to continue offering this Program in the near future. The 21 High School students from Yuma County who participated in 2024 also received a Certificate in Direct Care Workers from the College of Health Careers.

Agencies participating in 2024 were: Arizona Western College, University of Arizona-Yuma Campus, Grand Canyon University-Yuma Campus, Northern Arizona University, Western Arizona Council of Governments, Mexican Consulate of Mexico in Yuma, Child & Family Resources, City of Somerton Police Department, Somerton/Cocopah Fire Department, City of San Luis, Arizona Police Department, San Luis Parks & Recreation Department, Yuma County Library District, Chicanos Por La Causa, Harvest Preparatory Academy, Arizona@Work, Easter Seals, San Luis Walk-In Clinic, Inc. Clinical Dietetics Department, College of Health Careers.

In 2024 the Speakers who presented during the Leadership Program were Honorable Judge Yolanda Valenzuela-Torok with City of Somerton Municipal Court, Chief Araceli Juarez with the City of Somerton Police Department, Detective Emmanuel Aldana and Officer Nayeli Soto with the City of San Luis Police Department, Chief Javier Hernandez with the Somerton/Cocopah Fire Department, Ms. Martha Gonzalez with the Office of Honorable Representative Raul M. Grijalva, Ms. Thelma Lundy with Arizona@Work, Sergeant Matthew Gonzales with the US Marines, Sergeant Zachary Terry with the US Army, Ms. Lorena Delgadillo College of Health Careers Campus Administrator, Ms. Biridiana Martinez with Arizona Western College, Ms. Azeret Martinez with Northern Arizona University, Mr. Leonardo Morales with University of Arizona, and Ms. Maria Arias Santos with Grand Ganyion University. 

Other activities offered to children included face painting, water slide, recycling activities and games, engaging children in different physical activities and games; in addition recycling activities included art made from recycle materials. Airplanes were made from recycled file folders and decorated with glitter and paint.