Border Health Foundation Hopes to Start Helping Locally

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 07:28

Border Health Foundation, founded in 1984, provides training, technical assistance and applied research for health departments and community-based organizations that are trying to adapt, evaluate, implement or develop HIV prevention programs for at-risk minorities in the U.S. and in Northern Mexico. Border Health Foundation and the groups they work with target populations that may otherwise fail to receive a proper education on HIV prevention, substance abuse, domestic violence, and other health care concerns that affect their communities, said Ricky Wascher-Tavares, Border Health Foundation project director.

Wascher-Tavares, a Nogales native, discussed the roots and the mission of Border Health Foundation.

"One of the first projects that was implemented by Border Health Foundation was when we brought nurses from [Central America] and we trained them here in the United States,"  he said. "Then, they would go back and they would have the capacity to do whatever it was they were doing over there in health care, and subsequently we ended up working along the Arizona-Mexico border, which was the original vision and the mission of the organization."

"We did a lot of work with Mexico, and then we eventually stretched our reach from California all the way to Texas, and we were working across the entire U.S.-Mexico border. From there, we grew to be a national program."

Today, the Border Health Foundation projects are funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the local Tucson community is extremely supportive of the organization as they strive to continue to grow, Wascher-Tavares said.

Although the headquarters are located in Tucson, Border Health Foundation does very little work locally because they have always had the "border scope" and Tucson didn't fall within their designated border region. But now that Border Health Foundation is a national program, they are really trying to move in to start working locally, Wascher-Tavares said.

The non-profit organization has collaborated with AIDS Service Organizations in Tucson on various occasions to provide training for service providers and health departments, but Border Health Foundation plans to increase their attention on low-income, at-risk individuals in the local communities.

"It's sometimes difficult since we don't have that direct connection with [individuals] in the community, but it's really rewarding to know that we provided about 547 training programs in 44 states and three U.S. territories in the last five years," Wascher-Tavares said. "This is one of the most significant ways to help people."

For more information on HIV prevention, border health awareness and local health departments, the following resources may be useful:

The HIV Treatment is Power site is for individuals seeking information about HIV treatment options, support groups and other relevant resources. This site takes a close look at the significance of lab test results, the "basics of HIV," and provides options for funding treatment.

The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation is another useful resource for learning about local events, volunteer opportunities, prevention programs, support groups and much more.

The Pima Country Health Department doesn't narrowly focus on any one disease, disability or disorder, but rather focuses on local health news or issues as they strive to "be a leader in protecting health, preventing disease and promoting community well-being," according to their mission statement.

The mission of the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) - much like Border Health Foundation - is to "promote high quality, culturally sensitive education and capacity building programs for health care providers and agencies that provide HIV/AIDS related prevention and clinical management services in the U.S.-Mexico border region," according to the Web site. The site has many useful resources for migrants and individuals traveling between the U.S. and Mexico.

The United States-Mexico Border Health Commission (BHC) focuses on optimizing health and quality of life along the border. With an approach similar to that of Border Health Foundation, BHC tackles some different health issues.

Written by Jacquelyn Valerie Smith