Healthy combo
Priest, mayor join forces in San Luis
Dr. Rudy Valenzuela and Gerardo “Gerry” Sanchez both wear multiple hats. Not only are they healthcare providers, serving the San Luis community, but they each have their own pursuits which they practice passionately.
Sanchez is a physician assistant, but he’s also the mayor of San Luis, Ariz.
Valenzuela is a medical doctor, but he’s also a priest and runs another clinic in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico.
They met during their medical training. Now they work side by side at the former Camillus Health Center, located at 780 N. Cesar Chavez St., which recently joined Yuma Regional Medical Center. The clinic is
now called Yuma Regional Medical Center Primary Care — San Luis.
Becoming part of the YRMC family gives them a sense of relief. They say they can now focus better on the patients, not on the business of running a medical practice.
“It’s easier to wear my two hats,” Sanchez said.
He was born in Yuma, grew up in Somerton, graduated from Kofa High School and raised his family in San Luis. He’s come full circle, he notes. He’s now treating his classmates and their families.
He also jokes that he’s in Phase 3 of his life. He first earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in microbiology. But he always wanted to be a medical technologist so he became one, working in the field for several years. But he still wanted to do more so he went back to school at Midwestern University in Glendale, earned a master’s degree and became a physician assistant. He specialized in neurology while serving in Yuma but “family practice always called me,” Sanchez said.
“I love this,” he added, referring to the San Luis office, where he gets to treats all members of a family.
But he loves his other role just as much. He’s been in public office for 10 years, first as a council member and now as mayor for six years. It was never his ambition to become a mayor. Rather, he wanted to make a difference in San Luis, specifically in the areas of public safety, jobs, the needs of children but also healthcare.
“It just happened. I believe in doing the right thing,” Sanchez said. “I’ve always said, don’t just complain, do something about it.”
It’s a gratifying job, but he’s always on the job. A quick visit to the post office ends up being hours long. He’s glad that people feel comfortable enough to approach him and talk about their issues.
He wants to see healthcare services improve in San Luis and he’s happy that the clinic allows easier access for patients. Some patients have no transportation and they had to pay taxis or buses to get to Yuma for appointments, often getting there two hours before and then having to wait two more hours for the ride home. Now they can walk to the clinic.
He’s grateful to see young patients grow up in his care. He recalls a young lady he’s been treating since she was about 9 years old. Now she’s in college and working to become a dietitian.
“To see them grow, mature, that sticks with me. I’m doing something right, pushing them to be the best they can be,” Sanchez said.
His two children with wife Nidia are following in their father’s footsteps. Son Abraham is in his first semester of studying microbiology at the U of A. Daughter Karen is also studying microbiology at Arizona State University.
He says he never pushed them into any field and always told them to be what they wanted. His daughter started out studying business, but then switched to science. They both want to go into the medical field.
The advice he always gives them? Stay humble. Sanchez says his mother and wife make sure he stays humble. He still has to take out the trash, even if he is the mayor.
Sanchez says he and his wife chose to raise their kids in San Luis so they could be close to their grandparents on both sides of the family. And so they could also be close to their extended family and learn all about their traditions.
At home, Sanchez enjoys getting his hands dirty by building stuff or working on a car. He also likes target shooting, reading and listening to audiobooks when he’s driving.
Valenzuela, born in San Luis Rio Colorado, went to Arizona Western College and afterwards became a certified nursing assistant at a nursing center. But then he wanted to continue his studies, so he became a licensed practical nurse, then a registered nurse and then a nurse practitioner. After earning both bachelor and master degrees, he earned a doctorate in nursing at the University of Arizona.
At the same time he was studying nursing in Arizona, he was enrolled in theological studies in California.
“It was an exciting time,” Valenzuela said.
So exciting that at one time he was faced with the challenge of being in two places in the same day. He had his PhD graduation schedule for 2 p.m. in Tucson and an ordination ceremony in Mexicali at 7 p.m. He had no idea how he would be in both places on the same day. He had decided to skip the graduation, but a friend insisted he had to be there.
So he rented a plane and flew from Tucson to Calexico, took a taxi at the airport and changed from his graduate robes into his cassock robes during the ride. He made it just in time.
He’s always had a passion for helping people and felt drawn to the priesthood, but he also liked medicine. He couldn’t choose between them so decided to do both.
He serves as a pastor at a parish in San Luis, Mexico, and as director of the Santa Maria de Guadalupe Clinic, also in San Luis, Mexico. The nonprofit clinic serves 50,000 patients a year. A consultation costs $2 or is free if a patient cannot afford it. The clinic has a pharmacy, laboratory, psychiatrist and dentist. They’re in the process of building a hospital.
Valenzuela is in San Luis, Ariz., in the morning, in San Luis, Mexico, in the afternoon, seven days a week.
Serving the underserved fits with the mission at YRMC, he noted. YRMC gives patients access to complete healthcare, such as oncology and cardiology.
Both Valenzuela and Sanchez believe in the “holistic” approach. They consider all aspects of a person’s life. For example, if a patient has lower back pain, they want to know the patient’s situation at home. Do they have to climb stairs? Do they have transportation? Do they live in a warm house?
“Everything affects health. If they’re having financial problems, they’ll have high blood pressure, anxiety,” Valenzuela explained.
Stress often shows up in the body. That’s why Valenzuela doesn’t just prescribe medicine. He also prescribes life changes. He recalls a female patient who was in an abusive relationship. He didn’t beat around the bush. He told her she had to go home, pack up, leave the home and throw away the key.
She followed his advice and got help through Amberly’s Place, a crisis center that helps abuse victims. One year later, he says, she’s happy.
Valenzuela looks forward to many more years of service, both as a healthcare provider and a priest. When he’s not working, he enjoys being at home, reading or planting tomatoes and making pesto.
Both Valenzuela and Sanchez want to see healthcare services expand in San Luis. Sanchez notes that San Luis is the fastest growing city in Yuma County.
“It’s a highly mobile population. It’s a binational community,” he said.
Valenzuela agrees, pointing out that if the health of the population improves on the U.S. side, the health of the population across the border also improves.