Emphasizing Community in Community Health Centers

One of the special things about working at a Colorado Community Health Center (CHC) is that staff have the opportunity to truly interact with the community.

For example, Valley-Wide Health Systems partnered with Rocky Ford’s Jefferson Intermediate School to celebrate César Chávez day in March. Cindy Masias, outreach and special projects manager at Valley-Wide organized the event with help from other community partners and speakers.

The March 28, 2013 celebration included a school assembly with guest keynote speaker Dr. Virgilio Licona. Although he is now the vice president of Medical Services at Salud Family Health Centers, in 1973, Dr. Licona was the first director one of the state’s first migrant farmworker health clinics Colorado; Rocky Ford Community Health Center.

He described the work he did with farmworkers in Colorado, and the movement for better farmworker rights and health care started by César Chávez. At the end of his talk, he led the auditorium in chanting Chávez’ well-known phrase, “sí, se puede!” Students also enjoyed performances by matachines dancers.

Next, the entire school headed to the outdoor track where each classroom aimed to make as many laps as possible. An estimated 300-to-400 people walked the track together, including students, teachers, aides, food service workers, community members, members of Valley-Wide executive staff and local Valley-Wide management team members. Together they completed a total of 359 miles in a tribute to the 1966 walk from Delano to Sacramento, Calif., that Chávez and other farmworker-supporters undertook as protest against poor working conditions for farmworkers.

Students with parental permission and all adults were also offered a free health screening to test blood sugar and blood pressure. Valley-Wide employees conducted the screenings and spoke to each student about eating healthy, drinking enough water, getting enough physical activity, and preventing skin cancer. To tie these messages together, each student received a goody bag with a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, and a small packet of sunscreen.

This community involvement is a great demonstration of the work that CHC employees are able to do within their communities. Learn more about current job openings at Valley-Wide and other CHCs in Colorado here.

Leave a Reply

captcha *