Washington, D.C.– Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today congratulated the Mariposa Community Health Center in Nogales on receiving a three-year grant for $180,000 each year to expand the Santa Cruz County Adolescent Wellness Network founded in 2007. The grant, which comes through the Rural Health Network Development Grant program at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will enhance the Network’s school-based efforts to improve adolescent health county-wide.

The Network is a collaboration between Mariposa and four other partners to promote health information and literacy among adolescents, including the Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools, the Santa Cruz County Cooperative Extension, the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center, and the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. The grant, which goes directly to Mariposa, will support Network projects and increase the group’s ability to meet its goals.

“This is a great public service being done on a small budget, and I want very sincerely to thank Mariposa and the other Network partners for increasing health awareness where we need it most,” Grijalva said. “This grant will pay for itself many times over by preventing illnesses, improving decision-making and setting our young people on paths to healthier lives. Mariposa richly deserves this award and has my full support and gratitude.”

The Network’s goals for the community include enhanced access to primary care, implementing coordinated school health policies, and pursuing environmental and policy changes that improve adolescent health. The Network works with local schools, health care providers and others to enhance adolescent health and wellness in a variety of ways.

Mariposa Community Health Center has served Santa Cruz County for more than 30 years. As the largest  provider of medical, dental and preventative care in Santa Cruz County, Mariposa has clinics in Nogales, Rio Rico and Patagonia. Its Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department, Platicamos Salud (Let’s Talk Health), is the lead partner for the Adolescent Wellness Network.

For more information, contact Mariposa CEO James Welden at (520) 281-1550.