Even though many of San Diego 's medically uninsured are eligible for coverage under either Medi-Cal or Healthy Families programs, one out of every four individuals remains uncovered.

The VDS project was born out of a 2001 survey conducted by the US-Mexico Border Health Commission in partnership with the California-Mexico Health Initiative, which revealed alarming statistics about the status of health care access among Consulate beneficiaries.Seventy-five percent of those surveyed had lived in California for 10 years or more; however, 70% did not have health insurance in either Mexico or the United States. Furthermore, 80% of individuals surveyed had children between the ages of 0 and 18, and only 50% of those children had health insurance.

In November 2004, the Mexican Consulate in San Diego approached PCI to take over the Ventanilla de Salud project, which incorporates education, referral, and case management as its main strategies to counter the problems of uninsurance and lack of a medical home among Latinos of Mexican origin that visit the Consulate.Key elements toward the project's success include: (1) PCI staff expertise, (3) the client's trust of the Mexican Consulate, (2) follow-up and case management, in order to complete behavior-change information provided on the client's first visit, and (4) PCI's well-established collaborations with local health and social services agencies, including school-linked Family Resource Centers, Certified Application Assistor programs, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, and community clinics throughout San Diego County.

VDS incorporates a health window into the Mexican Consulate process of issuing identification cards and passports, and uses waiting time to provide general health consumer information regarding: (1) insurance eligibility and enrollment, (2) access to health services at community clinics, and (3) health education on various Health topics. Resource Specialists provide group education sessions and individual consultation on continual 1-hour intervals throughout the day.

If you would like more information about Ventanilla de Salud, please contact Miriam Hiel ( mhiel@projectconcern.org ) at (619)-308-9964.