Over 100 students from high schools throughout southeastern Arizona converged at the University of Arizona on December 11, 2009 for an exceptional glimpse into potential health-related career options.

The students, representing schools in Bisbee, Douglas, Nogales, Rio Rico and Tucson, all share an interest in the health care field as expressed through their participation in their local SEAHEC-sponsored High School Health Career Club. The UA visit was designed to provide these students with information and encouragement for further pursing their vocational vision following high school graduation.

ua_visitThe event, providing a half-day of experiential learning, was jointly coordinated by SEAHEC and the UA College of Medicine Office of Outreach and Multicultural Affairs (OMA). The visiting students were broken into small groups that, guided by UA pre-med student volunteers, rotated though a series of exploratory workshops. These workshops were conducted at various locations within the Colleges of Medicine and Nursing, allowing the students to have a first-hand on-campus experience. Many of these workshops were presented by university students and staff with minority backgrounds and/or from rural communities similar to those of the visiting students.

The student field trip was one essential component of SEAHEC's Future Healthcare Leaders program designed to encourage, prepare and assist youth from border communities for careers in the health care field. The program specifically reaches out to young people who come from rural or disadvantaged areas, and who may have had few opportunities to be exposed to medical careers. The goal is to increase the number of youth entering the health care field who have the cultural and linguistic capabilities to meet the needs of the populations they will serve.

Topics such as HPV, HPV & Men, the HPV Vaccine as well as a new HPV Vaccine and other Cervical Cancer updates were presented at the PCCCPP Training held at the Desert Diamond Casino in Sahuarita, AZ on June 9th and 10th, 2010. This training

marked the third year that the Partnership requested SEAHEC to provide Training, Facilitation and Coordination of the trainings for promotoras, community agencies and community members in Pima County. This summer's training included men to help in the fight against Cervical Cancer in Hispanic Women and provided the program with valuable insight on the recruitment of other men as well as their assistance in prevention and awareness programs in their communities. Thirty five men and women participated in the training and received certificates of completion that at least three of the promotoras posted on their face book website that showed how proud they were in their accomplishment as well as elicited the proud comments from family and friends that really demonstrates the impact that SEAHEC programs have on program participants and how this helps them work towards healthier happier communities.

SEAHEC Staff member Lourdes Paez-Badii and Lorena Verdugo, Promotora at El Rio Community Health Center were chosen to present on the work being done by the Pima County Cervical Cancer Prevention Partnership with REACH Funding to the U of A Center of Excellence in Women's Health and its use of the promotora model to

develop, implement and deliver Cervical Cancer Prevention and Awareness information to Hispanic Women in Pima County at the Latinas Contra El Cancer

Summit in San Francisco, CA that was held on July 26th to the 30th 2010. The presentations title was "FOLLOWING THE TRUE EXPERTS" and highlighted the key points that make promotoras the best candidates to assist Health Care Providers and Health Care Agencies in their prevention and awareness campaigns and how promotoras are valued by their communities as resources and up to date information providers to their clients. The summit was attended by 200+ participants from all over the US as well as from Argentina, Puerto Rico, Chile, Costa Rica and Venezuela.

On July 6, 2010 SEAHEC partnered with the Mariposa Community Health Center Summer Youth Institute where 26 students received certification for First Aid/ CPR and AED through the American Red Cross by Mireya Velasco lead CPR Instructor. This certification is designed to give confidence to respond in an emergency situation with skills that can save a life. This course combined lectures, demonstrations and video with hands-on training and practice. Students learned to recognize and respond to emergencies including shock, cardiac and breathing emergencies, heat and cold emergencies, sudden illnesses and poisonings, first aid training for everything from cuts, scrapes to muscle, bone and joint injuries.