Home > About Us > Advocacy

As Sonoma County’s premier non-profit health education and wellness center, the Northern California Center for Well-Being is the only access for all health education center in Sonoma County who’s sole focus is patient self-care. The Center’s mission is to promote the well-being of the whole person by empowering people with knowledge, skills, and spirit to take responsibility for personal, family and community health.

Promotores de Salud Philosophy

Promotores de Salud/Lay Health Workers are an essential resource for disseminating information amongst community members. One of the intrinsic characteristics of Lay Health Workers is their cultural sensitivity to the community’s beliefs, values and practices. Promotores de Salud falls under the Lay Health Worker umbrella. Latino families build a trusting relationship with the Promotores de Salud because the Promotores are part of the Latino community and they trust that their family culture is respected and preserved.

The Promotores de Salud from the Center for Well-Being are actively involved in the Sonoma County community providing presentations on nutrition, asthma, tobacco, childhood obesity and iron-deficiency anemia prevention. Presentations are made available to neighborhood groups, schools, food distribution sites, and community organizations. One of their major activities has been teaching in the waiting rooms at community clinics.  The collaboration with the community clinics has been pivotal for supporting patient navigation. This program helps Primary Care Providers to maximize appointment time by equipping families with a foundation of information that promotes healthy eating and active lifestyles. This model has had a great response from our healthcare partners and the community at large.

For more information on how to become involved in this program, please contact Martín Rivarola, Promotores de Salud Coordinator, at (707) 575-6043 x18 or info@nccwb.org

NCCWB Promotores de Salud / Lay Health Outreach Worker Programs:

Active Play Every Day

Active Play Every Day is an active recess program using the Play Works evidence-based model.  Recess coaches are trained through the Play Works model then assigned to an elementary school site where they facilitate safe, inclusive and active play during recess.

Asthma Prevention

The goal of the Creating Healthy Homes project is to reduce environmental triggers in Latino communities burdened by Asthma. The program has partnered with Burbank Housing to use Promotores de Salud to engage residents of multi-unit housing (MUH) complexes to address factors that affect indoor air quality and trigger asthma. Additionally, Promotores de Salud link residents of MUH housing sites to resources that support implementation of policies that reduce asthma triggers and improve indoor air quality.

To Breath Better (Tobacco Free Homes)

Promotores de Salud are interweaving the disciplines of tobacco control and asthma prevention by teaching Indoor Air Quality classes with an emphasis on reducing secondhand smoke exposure.  By empowering residents with information on secondhand smoke they can then advocate for policies that prohibit smoking in multi-unit complexes.  Other advocacy activities include working with Sonoma County jurisdictions to adopt and implement polices that regulate smoking in multi unit housing complexes.

Healthier Living- Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP)

Healthier Living is an evidence-based model for Chronic Disease Self-Management. NCCWB holds the license to offer the program in Sonoma County and two employees are Certified Master Trainers. Healthier Living Workshops are facilitated by two trained Lay Leaders (Community Health Workers). Workshops are given two and a half hours, once a week, for six weeks, in community settings such as senior centers, churches, libraries and hospitals. People with different chronic health problems attend together. Classes are highly participative, where mutual support and success build the participants’ confidence in their ability to manage their health and maintain active and fulfilling lives.

Subjects covered include:

1. Techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue, pain and isolation,
2. Appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility, and endurance,
3. Appropriate use of medications,
4. Communicating effectively with family, friends, and health professionals,
5. Nutrition, and,
6. How to evaluate new treatments.

Nutrition Education Outreach Program (NEOP)

NEOP is a comprehensive public health nutrition program to promote the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, and increase physical activity among the SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education) eligible population. Community Health Workers/ Promotores de Salud are trained in using Network for a Healthy California approved curriculum then mentored to provide community presentations.

Project T.R.U.E. - Teens R U Educated?

A youth-led peer education program focused on reducing teen alcohol, tobacco and other drug use in South Santa Rosa. Nine Peer Educators are recruited and trained from Roseland University Prep High School to teach healthy messages to their peers. The Peer Educators provide classroom presentations to sophomores at Roseland University Prep (RUP) as well as at local middle schools and teen centers.

Raising Healthy Active Kids (RHAK) – Mobilizing Promotores de Salud to address childhood obesity and iron-deficiency anemia

Since 2007, NCCWB has implemented a nutrition education and physical activity train the trainer model titled: “Raising Healthy Active Kids”, targeted to train and certify interested community members as Promotores de Salud.  The curriculum is aimed at reducing obesity and iron-deficiency anemia in children ages 0-5.

In a series of six workshops conducted in Spanish and free of charge, the attendees learn how to teach breastfeeding basics, as well as covering topics such as solid foods, feeding your toddler, portion distortion, reading food labels, importance of a well-balanced meal, effects of anemia and obesity, and strategies for increasing physical activity. Those who complete all six sessions will be awarded a Certificate of Completion, as a Promotores de Salud under the RHAK model.  These Promorores will receive monthly refresher trainings and will as be included in a mentoring program by the Promotores de Salud Coordinator.

Health Action

iWORKwell

Health Action’s Worksite Wellness Initiative seeks to support and recognize Sonoma County employers who take steps to promote wellness at the worksite. By partnering with the Health Action Council’s Worksite Wellness Initiative, the Center for Well-Being has developed a Worksite Wellness Product for Sonoma County employers who take steps to promote wellness at the worksite. Our Worksite Wellness Specialist will help you: develop an action plan to implement or improve a worksite wellness program, and set up programs and policies that give you a return on your investment. To learn more on how to create a workplace that encourages a healthy lifestyle and helps employees acquire and maintain healthy habits, click here to access our Online Worksite Wellness Toolkit                   

iWalk

iWalk is a countywide walking initiative to engage the community to support a culture of active, healthy living. The Center for Well-Being works collaboratively with other community leaders and organizations in Sonoma County to develop and implement local approaches to promote the health of the community and improve the health care delivery system. Learn more about the iWalk Health Action Initiative

Community Activity and Nutrition Coalition (CAN-C)

Who We Are

The Community Activity and Nutrition Coalition (CAN-C) of Sonoma County is a group of individuals, professionals and community based organizations concerned about the nutritional health, activity level and well-being of the residents of our community. The group was formed in 1998.

Mission and Goals

The mission of CAN-C is to promote optimal nutritional and physical health for Sonoma County residents with an emphasis on children. The goals of CAN-C are carried out through sub-committees of the coalition and include:

1. Increasing public awareness of nutrition and physical activity issues and potential solutions.· Increasing opportunities for access to healthy foods and physical activity in all environments where children and adults live, work, learn and play.
2. Advocating for health-focused policies and practices in school and community environments and empowering community members to do the same.
3. Promoting proven effective practices for prevention and treatment of nutrition/inactivity-related health problems within local health care systems and ensuring their availability.
4. Building collaborative relationships with government and community groups that support CAN-C objectives.