The Texas Department of State Health Services has released the 2007 Health Risk Factors in the Texas-Mexico Border report. It considers factors such as access to health services, lifestyle, preventive care, chronic disease and mental health.
South Texas
2007 Health Risk Factors in the Texas-Mexico Border
$390,000 Appropriated for Hispanic Health Research Center
A $390,000 federal appropriation will support the UT School of Public Health – Brownsville’s Hispanic Health Research Center and its Cameron County Hispanic Health Cohort of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. A press release from UT School of Public Health notes: “These vital funds will allow us to continue this important program dedicated to obtaining accurate information on the health status of people in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, particularly with regard to obesity, diabetes and mental health. It allows us to measure the impact accurately and to gain support for development and implementation of effective community-wide interventions” (Joseph B. McCormick, M.D., regional dean and James H. Steele Professor at the UT School of Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus).
15th Annual HIV/AIDS Update Conference – South Padre Island, Texas
On October 24-26, 2007 the Valley AIDS Council, Inc. 15th Annual HIV/AIDS Update Conference will be held on South Padre Island, Texas.
This conference is designed for Physicians, Health Care Providers, Nurses, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Case Managers, Educators, Mental Health Care Providers, Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, Outreach Workers, Substance Abuse Counselors, Probation Officers and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors.
Conference tracks include: Prevention, Services, Clinical and HIV Early Intervention.
To register or learn more, visit Valley AIDS Council, Inc.
3 pilot sites for the Hispanic Aging Initiative in South Texas
Three areas of South Texas — the San Antonio, McAllen, and Houston metropolitan areas — are among eight areas nationwide to be selected as pilot sites in the US Department of Health and Human Service’s new Hispanic Aging Initiative.
The pilot project is designed “to help communities work together to develop coordinated strategies for improving Hispanic elders’ access to important benefits, including the new Medicare prescription drug and prevention benefits as well as low-cost evidence-based prevention programs . . . and other initiatives that can reduce health disparities”, according to a HHS’s press release.
The year-long “learning network” gets underway at a three-day workshop in Houston later this month. For more information about the Initiative, check out http://www.academyhealth.org/ahrq/elders/
A Pregnant Pause: Reflections on Teen Pregnancy in Our Community
For the second year in a row, the Annie E Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT report for 2007 found that Texas had the highest rate of teen pregnancy among the fifty states. Texas Public Radio News just completed a three-part series looking at aspects of the issue, entitled “A Pregnant Pause: Reflections on Teen Pregnancy in Our Community.”
- Part One (WMA, MP3) looks at the Casey Foundation report and the failed effort to pass Texas House Bill 1842, the Texas Prevention First Act, last legislative session.
- Part Two (WMA, MP3) looks at Project WORTH, the City of San Antonio’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, and Big Decisions, an accompanying curriculum designed to help teens make healthy and informed choices about sex.
- Part Three (WMA, MP3) looks at Seton Home, a residential facility for girls aged 12-19 who are pregnant or already mothers, which helps them to proceed with their education and learn parenting skills.
Advice For Staying Safe In The Heat
The extreme high temperatures experienced by much of the country this summer look like they will continue well into August and beyond. The heat poses many health risks to those living along the US-Mexico border in colonias and other accommodation without air conditioning.
Heat-related illnesses are collectively known as hyperthermia, and occur when the body overheats. Conditions involving hyperthermia have different names, including heat stroke, heat fatigue, heat syncope (lightheadedness or fainting in the heat), heat cramps and heat exhaustion, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In response to the dangers of hyperthermia, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has created a website with guidelines and tips for recognizing the symptoms of hyperthermia and first aid techniques for assisting people suffering from it.
AHEC/Library Internship at UT Health Science Center
The South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and the UT Health Science Center Libraries are offering an unpaid internship for an undergraduate student interested in a possible career in medical librarianship.
The goal of this collaboration is to increase the number of students in South Texas who pursue health sciences librarianship as a career path.
The first internship will be conducted as a pilot at the UT Health Science Center Libraries in San Antonio, including the Briscoe Library and the Downtown Library. Depending on the results of an evaluation of the 2008 internship, subsequent internships may be planned for the Ramirez Library at the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen in 2009 and for the Laredo Campus Extension Library in 2010.
The internship will engage the student in activities that will introduce him or her to a broad range of responsibilities within a medical library environment, with a focus on community engagement. The evaluation of the pilot internship in 2008 will rely on a brief report written by the intern, feedback from library staff overseeing the intern, and input from the South Central AHEC.
Specific Activities:
- Gain experience with the MedlinePlus Go Local database of health service providers in South Texas. Responsibilities will include updating records and assisting with a mailing to each service provider.
- Enhance consumer health information available at libraries. Assist in the review of the libraries’ consumer health collections, focusing on books and brochures/pamphlets.
- Assist with trainings for community partners. Training events will likely focus on staff at public libraries, children attending summer camps organized by community-based organizations and/or community health workers/promotoras.
- Provide support for service at the libraries’ circulation and reference desks.
Hours:
8:00-5:00 Monday ” Friday, with a one-hour lunch break each day
Supervision and Mentoring:
The intern will be supervised the Director for South Texas Regional Information Services, with supervision and mentoring also provided through (4) biweekly meetings with the Associate Director for Public Services and (2) monthly meetings with the Executive Director of Libraries.
Application Requirements:
Applications should be sent to Dr. Keith Cogdill (cogdillk@uthscsa.edu) by Friday, June 27, and should include:
- Cover letter explaining interest in learning more about medical librarianship
- Resume
- Names and contact information for 3 references
Alamo Area Library System Diabetes Presentations
The Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library in Kerrville was the site of a recent diabetes information presentation held for the Alamo Area Library System (AALS). Six AALS libraries started hosting the presentations in March and the presentations are scheduled to conclude during the summer of 2011. The UT Health Science Center Libraries will be presenting programs in the AALS area as well as the South Texas Library System (STLS). Entitled Diabetes Information: How to Find Answers to Your Questions, the presentations are geared for a wide audience in order to promote access to reliable health information through sites such as MedlinePlus® and NIHSeniorHealth®. The Butt-Holdsworth presentation was the last event to take place in the library before the beginning of a major rennovation that will culminate with the library reopening in January of 2012.
Border Health Conference in D.C.
The Rio Grande Guardian reported on the 5th Annual Border Conference which takes place this Wednesday:
The Border Health Caucus represents more than 9,000 members, comprising the Texas Medical Association’s county medical societies along the border, plus Bexar and Nueces county societies. The BHC is hosting the 5th Annual Border Health Conference, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the North Congressional Meeting Room in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center.
The speakers:
Among those slated to speak on this panel are J. Manuel de la Rosa, founding dean of the Texas Tech Health Science Center in El Paso, Sam Howarth, director of policy and multicultural health at the New Mexico Department of Health, Don McBeath, director of advocacy for the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals, Jaime Flores Neder, former president of the Juarez Medical Society, F. Sam Notzon, director of the international statistics program for the National Center for Health Statistics, and Leonel Vela, regional dean of the Regional Academic Health Center in the Rio Grande Valley.
