Alfonso Figueroa and his team snack on carrots and fruit while their coworker has his blood pressure checked and his blood sugar measured. They laugh and joke as they await their own free checkups, adding to the family atmosphere at the Winchester Heights Community Center just north of Willcox.
Alfonso heads the group of pistachio farmworkers and it’s the middle of their workday on a cool afternoon in November. But work doesn’t stop Alfonso from bringing the group to the no-cost mobile clinic.
Health workers from different organizations set up their designated foldable tables with medical equipment, pamphlets and each patient has their pick of health-focused swag, like Band-Aids and alcohol wipes.
“I know how important it is for my workers and those of us that can’t come during work hours, so I pull out my people and we come to get our checkups,” he says in Spanish.
The community center is small but robust with a full kitchen, printers and computers.
Alfonso and his men wear baseball caps, long-sleeved shirts and jeans, ready to resume working at the pistachio farm once they finish at the clinic.
For 14 years, Alfonso has been a farmworker in Winchester Heights, an unincorporated community outside of Willcox. He rose through the ranks.
He says he learned from experience that it’s important for him, as a boss, to make sure his team has access to care. Taking advantage of these opportunities is especially critical in a rural community without the same services bigger cities take for granted.
“We’ve been through a lot because sometimes we have people — bosses — who don’t give us permission,” he says. “Sometimes you want to watch your health and see how you’re doing and sometimes we don’t get a chance because of the excessive work.”
Almost 2,000 Cochise County residents are farmworkers as of 2017 estimates, according to the National Center for Farmworker Health. Winchester Heights is one of the region’s many rural communities whose residents are mostly dedicated to farm labor.
The closest medical facility is a mobile health center that’s open five days a week more than 15 miles away in Willcox. It is run by Chiricahua Community Health Centers.
More than half of Cochise County residents have had to travel outside the county to receive medical care, according to a 2023 Cochise County community health needs assessment. Most of those surveyed said they believe the greatest barrier to healthcare is “the lack of primary care physicians, specialists, and behavioral health providers located within the County.”
These limitations affect more than just residents’ health, it poses a financial burden. Traveling to neighboring counties and medical costs keep many from seeking care until the situation is urgent.
Alfonso said that even discounted care at the Willcox clinic can be cost prohibitive, which is why free mobile clinics are crucial to residents’ preventative care.
“If you want to get checked, you go to the hospital, and they charge you a very high cost. And here, well, it’s free, all because of these programs,” he says.
Farmworkers and those in similar professions, like crop laborers, make a mean annual wage of $34,420 in Arizona, according to 2023 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is only slightly lower than the mean in California — $ 36,670 — the state with the most agricultural labor.
Farmworkers’ wages in Arizona fall far below the $77,315 median household income in the state, according to 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data.
Aida Garcia is president of Winchester Heights Community Center. She organizes the mobile health clinics and says many people don’t come to these events because they’re worried about paying.
“Some people don’t believe it’s free and don’t want to go. I just have to assure them that, despite what they may hear, the services are free,” she says in Spanish. She coordinates with organizations to hold mobile clinics regularly so she can facilitate access to health resources and services that are often too far away or expensive.
Like Alfonso and his team, Aida lives in Winchester Heights. She has been a promotora, or community health worker, since 2007.
As she zooms around the community center, Aida chats up the health workers and welcomes visitors — by name when she can. When a Cochise County Health Department worker preps a sobbing boy for a shot, she cheers him on along with another dozen people.
Afterward, a representative from the state’s Women, Infants and Children program hands him a lollipop and sticker, praising his bravery.
Aida and her predecessor’s work have been instrumental in improving health care access for Winchester Heights residents, especially for low-income people who work in neighboring farm fields.
The 2023 community health needs assessment spotlighted the center’s success. People surveyed said they “agreed that the Winchester Heights Community Center has had a positive effect on their community.”
Alfonso says Winchester Heights has a strong sense of community and when Aida messages him about an upcoming health clinic, he lets his team know it’s time to get their blood pressure and blood sugar checked.
“I like to take part in the community and sometimes they bring us these programs because they benefit those of us who live here and in the surrounding areas,” he says. “These are things that concern us — that interest us so we know about our health.”
Four men from Alfonso’s crew groaned as they stretched to rise from the metal chairs. Finished with their checkups, they gathered by the door, ready to get back to work. Before taking his last step to exit, Alfonso gave Aida a small wave and a thank you, knowing he’d see her next time.
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