Volunteers Bridge Latino Community with Health Care Resources

Diabetes, obesity and asthma are among the key health issues among Latinos in Union City, according to specialists at . To reduce these and other chronic diseases, the Decoto-based clinic takes a true community approach to addressing community health.

Each year since 2001, specialists at the clinic train volunteers to educate the community about health issues and bridge access to care and services through their Promotores de Salud (Promoters of Health) program.

Last month, 30 volunteers graduated from the eight-week, 16-session program. The class included 11 youth, ranging from ages 14 to 24, as part of their first academy.

“The future health of the community is with you,” said Jose Joel Garcia, executive director of Tiburcio Vasquez during the graduation ceremony held at on June 24. “This community is in your hands.”

Representatives from the offices of Supervisor Nadia Lockyer, Senator Ellen Corbett and Assemblymember Mary Hayashi, among others, presented the students with certificates during the graduation ceremony, commending them for their dedication to community health.

Promotores de Salud is based on a national outreach model recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its role in educating communities. Through the program, students are provided with the skills required to conduct outreach. Session topics range from planning and advocacy to how to analyze health.

“Health is much broader than just physical health,” said Susana Peinado, an outreach worker for Tiburcio Vasquez and mental health educator with Cultura Y Bienestar. “If there’s violence in your community, that affects your health.”

Upon completion of the program, students receive certificates giving them official status as a promotera, or community health worker. They then go into the community to give presentations on health issues at schools, during events and inside individual homes. Graduates can also enroll in intensive programs on specific health issues.

“They know what the community needs and what the biggest concerns are,” Peinado said of the volunteers. “They have the connections in the community, whereas sometimes institutions don’t have them.”

More than 300 local volunteers have become certified outreach workers through Tiburcio Vazquez’s Promotores program over the years, many of whom may not have received formal training otherwise, Peinado said. Some who complete the program are also doctors or nurses with degrees from other countries who use the program to connect with health in their community, she said.

Though the program benefits the community, it’s also about personal growth.

“It’s really about self-development, their skills and how they can use these skills for their community,” said Peinado, who went through the Promotores de Salud program last year.

The program is sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. The organization, which provided a $50,000 grant this year, will continue to fund the program, said Sylvia Jimenez, community benefit manager for Kaiser Permanente in the greater southern Alameda County region,

“It’s a proven best practice in health care education in communities of color,” she said.

She believes issues of concern among Latinos, such as diabetes and obesity, can be reduced through community service and outreach programs such as Promotores de Salud.

Through their outreach in Decoto, promotores have formed a walking group who meet each day from 5 to 6 p.m. for treks through Dry Creek Regional Park. As a result, several walking group members have lost significant amounts of weight, Jimenez said.

Jiminez hopes to expand the Promotores model to Afghan and Asian communities in the southern Alameda County region, particularly to implement domestic violence education and awareness programs. 

“We need to address more communities,” she said.

The next Promotores de Salud program begins in September. Those interested in being a promotora may call at 510-471-5880 for more information.