The Migrant Health & Education Program (MHEP) was established in 2001 to address specific healthcare disparities in Maricopa County. Since its inception, MHEP has worked to provide pediatric screening services for Head Start, and for the last three years, has focused on providing breast health services. MHEP seeks out communities within Maricopa and neighboring counties demonstrating significant need, typically areas with large migrant worker and low-income populations at high risk for undetected diseases.

MHEP is a unique collaborative community outreach program out of the organization F.A.C.E.S (Fostering and Achieving Cultural Equity and Sensitivity) in Health Professions, which is sponsored by the Office of Academic Access and Achievement at the Phoenix Campus of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. As a pre-health student-run program, MHEP relies upon volunteers from Arizona State University and provides pre-health professions students with opportunities to serve their communities while learning about public health. With generous funding from the Susan G. Komen Foundation, MHEP provides breast health clinics in medically underserved communities in the Phoenix metropolitan area and surrounding rural areas. Phoenix clinics are held in conjunction with health fairs organized by local partners, including Maricopa Integrated Health System, Univisión, and Telemundo, while rural clinics are coordinated with local healthcare providers such as the Gila Bend Primary Care Center and the San Manuel Sun Life Family Health Center. A new MHEP partnership has been formed with the Osco Drugstore’s community health outreach program, A Su Salud health fairs. This collaborative effort will allow MHEP to ensure full patient attendance by being present at the heavily attended Osco health fairs, thus increasing capacity for cancer screening and education.

At each clinic, MHEP provides screening mammograms and breast health education for high risk, uninsured women. Then, after the clinics, all women needing follow-up care are assisted to ensure they have access to this care. In accordance with its original mission, MHEP provides volunteer opportunities for future health professionals, while providing desperately needed education and medical services to underserved communities in Arizona.

A handful of local organizations serve similar purposes as MHEP, however, MHEP has developed a strong working relationship with institutions and service providers through the support of the University of Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence and the Arizona Health Sciences Center, Phoenix Campus. The interuniversity collaboration, particularly between ASU and UA, allows MHEP to access a greater amount of resources.

This program is unique in that it is an initiative led by volunteer pre-health profession students to address specific unmet healthcare needs of medically underserved women. MHEP’s mobile capacity allows the program to reach out to the most vulnerable population of minority women in Maricopa County and neighboring counties, with an emphasis on rural communities. Through MHEP clinics, pre-health students gain exposure to underserved populations, contributing to greater cultural awareness and hopefully encouraging students to continue serving these populations throughout their professional careers.