When we think of emergency preparedness, the last word that comes to mind is student. However, students from Coachella Valley High School (CVHS) continue to prove that they can contribute to a safe campus and reach out to the community to address unmet health awareness needs. Students need more than what lectures and the internet… Read more »

We Are All Ironmen
- By Students Kaela Martin (10th), Ifra Iyoob (10th), Yejin Jung (10th), Katherine Justo (10th) (ft. Mr. Paiz)
- May/June 2023
On December 4, 2022, 54 volunteers from the illustrious Palm Desert Health Academy, under the leadership of the wonderful Mr. Ron Paiz, participated in the local Indian Wells/La Quinta Ironman Triathlon. The Ironman Triathlon is a 70.3-mile course that includes a 1.2-mile swim in Lake Cahuilla; a 56-mile bike ride through La Quinta, Thermal and… Read more »
La Quinta High School (LQHS) Medical Health Academy is now giving their students an opportunity to support and encourage one another by becoming LQHS Peer Helpers. The emotional toll from the pandemic has brought to light the importance of self-care and positive coping skills within all age groups. Since then, Stacey Bolanos, a Medical Health… Read more »
The STEM Impact in Cathedral City
- By Priscila Marquez, CCHS HEAL Academy Student
- January/February 2023
When it comes to education, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is a pivotal aspect. STEM continues to grow at Cathedral City High School (CCHS) and has had a positive impact on the student body. As a member of CCHS’s Health and Environmental Health Academy of Learning (HEAL), I was given the opportunity to create… Read more »
Sixty health academy students at Coachella Valley High School (CVHS) are piloting the launch of a Public Health Youth Corps for our region with the hope that many more students in academies across the valley will join next year. These students are part of a statewide Public Health Youth Corps, thanks to a partnership between… Read more »
Health Care Leadership Summer – Take 12!
- By Kim McNulty
- September/October 2022
This June, 25 local college students embarked on a journey to explore health careers with mentors across the Coachella Valley through a program that’s been taking place every summer since 2010. Over the past 12 years, OneFuture Coachella Valley, Health Career Connection and 68 local partners have facilitated 274 paid internships for 235 valley students.… Read more »
La Quinta High School’s (LQHS) Medical Health Academy (MHA) offers their students a hands-on approach to exploration and preparation for a career in the health field. The academy is a three-year program that exposes students to a variety of health care professions. Courses include an introduction to medicine, medical terminology and proficiency in basic skills,… Read more »
Still Moving Forward
- By Students Noor Diab and Olivia Dore
- May/June 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a challenge; however, students at the Palm Desert High School Health Academy (PDHA) are trying to make the best of the situation and continue to push forward despite adversity. The pandemic has created many obstacles to how the academy typically runs, but despite these unique circumstances, students are… Read more »
Sharing Student Mental Wellness Resources
- By Students Dana Santos Patron, Aylin Andrade, George Vaca and Freddy Centeno Rodriguez
- March/April 2022
Online learning during the pandemic fueled the rise in mental illness. As behavioral health students in the Health Academy at Coachella Valley High School, we knew that we were negatively impacted by the pandemic and three out of the four of us felt that our abilities faltered through online learning. A survey conducted at Coachella… Read more »
New Physician Assistant Pipeline Supporting Local Students
- By Jazmin Rojas-Monarrez, Behavioral Health Assistant
- January/February 2022
What once seemed an impossible dream— Coachella Valley students making their way into medical school— may soon become a regular reality thanks in part to efforts of OneFuture Coachella Valley’s Physician Assistant Pipeline Alignment Team. The team recently launched with leadership from UC Davis, USC, and local physician assistant (PA) professionals to prepare students to… Read more »
CCHS Prepares With COVID Testing
- By Senior Angelina M. Morales
- November/December 2021
With everything going on during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cathedral City High School (CCHS) has taken safety precautions to ensure that the students’ and staff’s health is secured. Students and staff can sign a consent form to allow the school to test them for COVID-19. The free test is conducted on campus and results are given… Read more »
The Coachella Valley is currently facing a shortage of primary health care professionals, especially those from within our community, and physician assistants are an important resource to meet that need. OneFuture Coachella Valley (OFCV) is facilitating the launch of a new regional alignment team to address this, with a specific focus on creating awareness of… Read more »
A Call to Action for Our Community’s Future
- By Robert Kambe
- July/August 2020
As an employer or resident of the Coachella Valley are you invested in developing your future workforce and our students’ future? If so, I invite you to join with me. As the co-chair for OneFuture Coachella Valley’s Business Engagement Committee, I am pleased to share that we are creating a strategic path to provide local… Read more »
Suppose I could offer you an opportunity to grow your future workforce? Growing your future workforce while impacting and mentoring thousands of young high school students is available through OneFuture Coachella Valley’s Business Engagement Team. Business leaders and owners taking part in this opportunity are also developing a pipeline of next generation talent. As business… Read more »
Wellness can be defined as an approach to health care that emphasizes illness prevention and prolonging life, rather than emphasizing the treatment of disease. This viewpoint, as well as the current condition of health among humans, has inspired a new career academy at Indio High School under the leadership of Jason Tate, a biologist and… Read more »
Health Career Connection (HCC) is a national nonprofit that provides college students, recent graduates and alumni with paid, full-time internships in healthcare fields. This unique internship program is offered in the Coachella Valley in partnership with the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP). The HCC/CVEP ten-week internship program provides underrepresented local college students with opportunities to… Read more »
Students from Cathedral City High School (CCHS) leave the safety and security of their classroom once every semester in their junior year, to venture throughout the Coachella Valley to discover information about a possible future career. The students are enrolled in the Health and Environment Academy of Learning (HEAL) at CCHS, a curriculum designed to… Read more »
CVHS Students Aspire to be Medical Professionals
- By Simon P. Moore, CVHS Health Academy Lead Teacher
- July/August 2013
“Why do I need to know that,” Jasmine spurts out – even before I could summarize the informational articles for rhetorical persuasion lesson. “Well,” I attempt to patiently return, “if you can’t persuade people of what you want, you probably won’t get it.” This seems to work; there’s some moderate buy-in. Following a flurry of… Read more »
La Quinta High School Medical Health Academy (MHA) is showing great results in graduating seniors! Of our 2012 graduate class, 100% graduated, 98% have pursued college and the other 2% the military. Of that 100%, we had 44% of the students accepted into a four-year university. The remaining students are going to a Junior College… Read more »