Mexican Consulate in San Diego Opens Health Office To Offer Information, Referrals

The Mexican consulate in San Diego today will open a health office to provide information about preventive care, patients' rights in the United States and common illnesses to low-income Latino immigrants, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Two resource specialists staffing the center will refer clients to county health care facilities that provide services regardless of patients' immigration status. The California Endowment provided a $746,000 grant to operate the office, and Family Health Centers of San Diego, the U.S. Border Health Commission and the Mexican Secretary of Health are providing additional support, the Union-Tribune reports. Consulate officials said the health services are needed because many undocumented immigrants do not seek routine health care and seek more expensive emergency room care when they are ill (Sanchez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/12).