Honoring Don Proulx, 1945-2018, for his service to rural health in Arizona

Honoring Don Proulx, 1945-2018, for his service to rural health in Arizona

Donald E. Proulx, former Associate director of Arizona AHEC and former staff member of the Arizona Rural Health Office, passed away on Oct. 21, 2018. The Arizona Center for Rural Health wishes to extend its sincere condolences to his family and recognize his service to rural and underserved communities in the state. 

Don Proulx was a valued colleague of Andy Nichols, founder of the Arizona Rural Health Office. He was tapped by Andy to head up a new AHEC in the Miami/Globe area, and then to preside over the Rural Health Office's Education Unit.

Don was featured prominently in the book, "Four Decades in the Desert: The University of Arizona's Center for Rural Health 1970-2015" by author Michael Joe Dupont, excerpted here:

“I invited Andy Nichols early on as a guest lecturer in my classes,” remembered Don Proulx, who was then Associate Dean of Health Sciences at Pima Community College, during a 2013 interview. Andy was interested in how our exchange program went, and after I invited him to my class, we hit it off. He was a true advocate of disadvantaged communities, and so we bonded because of my cross-border experiences. We were into the same things, and Andy was basically my counterpart at the University of Arizona in terms of community health."

"Don Proulx developed his devotion to what he calls “disenfranchised people” by the most organic of means. He lived it. “I was born poor,” he explained. …“Right now my interest is in promotoras, who are community health representatives. It’s actually a concept that came from Mexico, and these are people who are trusted members in their own neighborhoods. They’re helpers and promoters of good health, and they do a lot of home visits and work with their own people. I love the concept and the work is exceptionally good. Well, we didn't know what promotoras were back then, but growing up, I sure could have used one.” …“AHEC clicked for me because I was always interested in medicine,” Proulx explained. This was my opportunity to go into the Rural Health Office with Andy, and become an AHEC director, so I applied and the community steering committee selected me as founding director."

Below are some fond memories of Don from his UA colleagues:

Jill Guernsey de Zapien - So many folks at the Rural Health Office remember all the wonderful work that Don accomplished as the Assistant Director of the Arizona AHEC and indeed there was so much to remember! But I like to recall how passionate and committed Don was to community health workers! Don had a vision for building a strong CHW program with community colleges throughout the country and pioneered so much of what has become the recognized core competencies and skills of community health workers in our country. Today, his original JUMP START curriculum serves as the guiding force to almost all training programs for community health workers in our state. Don was an active  member of our Arizona Community Health Worker Workforce Coalition and was delighted when a bill passed in the last legislative session recognizing voluntary certification of community health workers. He will be missed by so many, but his legacy with community health workers will live on.