MHP Salud’s story begins in 1983, when a group of Sisters saw an urgent need: Michigan’s migrant and seasonal farmworkers struggled to access healthcare. They didn’t understand the health care system. They didn’t speak the language. And they were very hesitant to trust. So many simply went without the health care they greatly needed.
A Legacy of Community Care
More than just the hands that pick the food or plow the fields, The Sisters saw the farmworkers as more than the hands that pick the food and plow the fields. They understood each individual was a contributing member of their community – of our own dinner tables – with families, hopes and dreams. Despite their instrumental impact on America’s agricultural economy, their needs weren’t met.
For our founders Sister Mary Maurita Sengelaub, Sister Judith Mouch, and Genoveva Martinez, this was unacceptable. Together, they formed the Midwest Migrant Health Information Office – which would eventually become MHP Salud – to reach and serve farmworkers through education, outreach and support that was sensitive to their backgrounds and traditions, language preferences, and family norms.
Our Foundation: Community Health Workers
The foundation of our legacy stands true today: effective health solutions must come from within the community itself. Led by this belief, our founders embraced the Community Health Worker (CHW) model, still the cornerstone of all MHP Salud’s community initiatives.
As trusted peers, CHWs – also known as Promotores de Salud – are integrated within the communities they serve. They’ve often grown up there, share similar experiences and traditions, and speak the same language. They easily build trust with their neighbors, and they know the challenges and resources in the community. They also understand how to navigate sensitive situations and complex systems. The result: improved health education, behavior change, and increased access to health and social services.
Advancing Access, Education and Reach
It didn’t take long to see the effect of our efforts – and the need to reach more underserved communities. Within only a few years, our leaders expanded beyond the Midwest and MHP Salud quickly became a recognized leader in impactful, community-based programming.
We began launching CHW-led initiatives across multiple states, meeting unmet needs related to health education, maternal and child health, chronic disease prevention and management, and access to care. Though each community brought new challenges, we continued to cultivate relationships from within, empowering local CHWs to care for their neighbors.
While our early days were grounded in the strengths and values of Latino communities to best serve agricultural workers, our compassion for humanity soon led us to expand our mission to serve all communities in need.
A New Name, A Broader Mission
As our impact expanded nationally, so did our mission. In 2007, we adopted our current name, MHP Salud, honoring our roots in migrant health promotion while illustrating our broader commitment to community health and well-being across all populations, particularly those in historically underserved and/or rural neighborhoods.
With bigger footprints in Texas and Florida, MHP Salud strengthened partnerships with health centers, schools, community organizations, health systems and others to multiply impact and improve health and well-being for populations too often forgotten.
Person-Centered Approaches
In the midst of growth, we’ve always understood health is more than clinical care; it’s trust, familiarity, nutrition and physical activity, shared language and experiences, food security, social connections, and so much more. That’s why our programs are designed with and for the communities we serve, and why we invest in a workforce that shares and understands experiences of our participants.
Trust and Growth
Our deep community connections have allowed us to meet the unmet needs for nearly 50 years. Over the decades, we’ve helped tens of thousands of families and individuals live full, healthy lives. And though our work always remains grounded in CHW-led initiatives, we understand that no two communities are the same – and that’s what allows us to make a difference.
Through deep community partnerships, we’ve developed high-impact programs tackling emerging health priorities such as:
Chronic Disease Prevention
(e.g., diabetes, hypertension, obesity)
Mental Health and Well-Being
Maternal and Child Health
Child Development and Education
Substance Misuse and HIV/STI Prevention and Education
Health Insurance Education, Navigation and Enrollment
The outcomes speak for themselves:
3K+
individuals secure health coverage every year
45%+
individuals increase fruit and vegetable intake
95%+
older adults secure health coverage, nutrition benefits
95%+
of MHP Salud’s clients come to us through word of mouth
But our influence goes beyond the local level. As our direct service work flourished, so did our commitment to supporting others … leading to the next evolution of MHP Salud: national workforce development training and consultation.
Training and Consultation to Improve Public Health
With proven impact and a “secret sauce to success,” MHP Salud emerged as a national leader in training and consulting with health systems and community organizations. Focusing on improving public health, organizational outcomes, ROI, leadership development, and a strong, loyal workforce, MHP Salud trains more than 500 organizations every year.
Many of our partners include:
- Health centers and hospitals
- State and local health departments
- Community-based organizations
- Federal agencies
- And more
Plus, we are one of the only organizations in Florida to train current and future CHWs to prepare them to achieve certification – roughly 50% of all CHWs who become certified each year were trained by MHP Salud.
Looking Forward
Today, MHP Salud continues our legacy as a community-focused, community-driven nonprofit dedicated to serving and supporting others on their journeys of health and well-being.
We’re excited to deepen community connections, expand our reach, elevate the CHW workforce, and contribute to collective impact. Most recently, we became Florida’s only state-approved CHW Registered Apprenticeship Program, blending comprehensive instruction with on-the-job training to support health systems and patients during this pivotal time.
Believing in the value and dignity of every person, MHP Salud will continue leading the way in meeting unmet needs, providing hope and opportunities to those who have too often been forgotten, and bringing our communities together to create strong, healthy, vibrant futures.
Be a Part of Our Continuing Story
Together, we can shape the future of community health.