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SALT LAKE CITY — The Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City is teaming up with nonprofit Alliance Community Services to expand its Ventanilla de Salud program.
The program aims to improve the local Latino community's physical and mental health by offering primary and preventive services in Spanish with cultural relevance.
Marcos Munoz, of Alliance Community Services, said the hope is that the Ventanilla de Salud, which translates directly to "health window" in English, becomes a center for the community to receive basic care, as well as a link between the Hispanic community and Utah's health care network.
"We've found that the Hispanic community has a cultural barrier as much as a linguistic barrier," Munoz said in Spanish. "We want to break this cultural barrier that our community has, so that they feel more trustful."
The services offered — which range from glucose and blood pressure tests to vaccines and cancer support groups — are free and an appointment isn't needed. Although the Ventanilla de Salud isn't appropriate for emergency needs, workers are able to help provide referrals, health care counseling and additional information. Eventually, the Ventanilla de Salud will also offer its services during mobile consulate visits in other parts of the state.
"Everyone is welcome at the Ventanilla de Salud," Deputy Consul Patricia Cortes said. "They don't need an appointment to visit us. They don't even have to be Mexican to visit us. The doors are open, and they can just drop in to see what services we're able to provide."
Cortes said Alliance Community Services' two decades of experience working in the community, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, was partly why the consulate chose to partner with the nonprofit. The group also has a diverse team that represents the different cultures within the local Latino community, and all staff members speak Spanish and have a unique sensitivity to the situations impacting the community.
"We're very happy to have them on board. They've been engaging with the community already for a while, so they have the necessary experience with regards to approaching the community and getting to know them in different areas," Cortes said.
The Ventanilla de Salud is open to the public at the offices of the Consulate of Mexico, at 660 S. 200 East, Suite 300, in Salt Lake City, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The ventanilla can be contacted directly by calling 801-833-1934.
