South Texas

Play Brings Pesticide Risk Awareness to Farmworkers

EPA Region 6 has published an interactive humorous play designed to increase safety awareness for individuals who work in areas that are treated with pesticides. The play, called “El Moscas” y los Pesticidas was written by a former migrant worker, Mr. Nephtalí De León, with input from federal, state and health agencies that have a shared interest in providing and communicating information about pesticide awareness.   

The play was performed on Saturday, October 23, 2010 by migrant and seasonal farmworker students from the Children in the Fields Campaign’s Pan American Texas Youth Council before an audience of over 700 community members at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle, in San Juan, TX.

To view the script, and to get more information about “El Moscas” y los Pesticidas, please visit:  http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/beyondtranslation/2009/elmoscas.html

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Póngase al día con su salud en MedlinePlus

In June, NLM released a public campaign to try to encourage Spanish-speaking Web users in the US and worldwide to use medlineplus.gov/salud. The campaign’s tagline is “Póngase al día con su salud en MedlinePlus” (“Get up to date on your health with MedlinePlus”) and it features a superstar who is instantly recognizable across Latin America: Chilean TV host Mario Kreutzberger, better known as Don Francisco. Don Francisco is the Emmy-award-winning host of the longest-running TV show in the Americas: Sábado Gigante, which he created in Chile in 1962 and which has continued weekly for many years across the US on the Univisión network and throughout Latin America on Galavisión. His campaign for NLM and MedlinePlus includes videos, posters, bookmarks, and calling cards — all available for free download and distribution from MedlinePlus. You can view the videos and learn more about the campaign in English or in Spanish, and download the (bilingual) campaign materials here.

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Ramirez Library Staff Participate in Hurricane Preparedness Fair

It’s hurricane season, and local agencies are working to help communites in the the Rio Grande Valley get prepared.  On June 29th staff from the Mario E. Ramirez, M.D. Library lent a hand at a hurricane preparedness outreach fair in Brownsville.  Information related to emergency preparedness, evacuation, and recovery was shared with over 200 community participants.   Library staff shared disaster information resources from the National Library of Medicine including a presentation by Greysi Reyna on MedlinePlus.   Library staff also setup an exhibit of historical photographs from the Hurricane Beulah Collection at the Ramirez Library.  The fair was organized by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of Border Affairs in  partnership with Texas A&M AmeriCorps and Cameron and Willacy Counties Community Projects, Inc.

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Responding to the Epidemic: Strategies for Improving Diabetes Care in Texas

An alarming rate of increase is projected for the incidence of diabetes in Texas over the next 30 years. Based on statistics from the Office of the State Demographer, Texas will see an increase of 156,000 new cases of diabetes each year. A newly released report from the Texas Health Institute (THI) recommends a plan of action to curtail these predictions. According to the report, “The State Demographer projects a quadrupling of the number of  adult Texans with diabetes from approximately 2.2 million in 2010 to almost 8 million by 2040.” Counties in the Texas border region are expected to be particularly hard hit. Given that rates of diabetes in Hispanic populations are higher than the national average, “There are a large number of Hispanic residents at high-risk of developing diabetes, particularly in South Texas, where obesity rates are very high and insurance coverage is very low.”

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Return of the “Health Lotería” #13: El cantarito

First of all, your humble blogger and “lotería caller” wishes to ask your indulgence for the long and unexpected break in the “Health Lotería;” a series of conflicts and technical problems interfered with the lotería for a while.  The good thing is that we’re back — and hopefully for a good while this time.

This week — from 19 to 25 October 2008 — is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.  The image of the “cantarito” from the lotería reminds us that toxic lead can not only reach us in work materials, old pipes or house paint, but also in clay or ceramic containers like some handcrafts for sale in Mexico and along the border, as well as home remedies such as “greta” and “azarcón”.  Lead is a silent poison — high levels of lead in the blood do not show obvious symptoms until they are already causing permanent damage in the brain and body.  Children run an even greater risk from lead because they can be affected by smaller quantities of lead than adults.

Please read the following documents to understand what are the possible sources of lead that could affect you and your family.  If you believe that it’s possible that you or a member of your family could have been exposed to lead, it’s very important that you or your family member goes to the doctor and gets tested for the level of lead in the blood.

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Science Expo 2011

UT Health Science Center Librarian Peg Seger assisting future medical professional

 Health Professionals of Tomorrow storm UT Health Science Center

The UT Health Science Center played host to nearly 1,500 students from all over San Antonio and South Texas on  November 12, 2011. The majority of the students were high school seniors and juniors with a few extra who came along for the ride. The enthusiasm and excitement displayed by the students was exciting and spoke well of the future of medicine in the hands of these possible upcoming professionals. The UT Health Science Center Briscoe Library sponsored an exhibit table in the medical lecture hall commons area  during the Science Expo. On exhibit were such things as the availability of MedlinePlus, the PubMed database and how to effectively use the National Library of Medicine resources. Also on hand were materials containing information on medical librarianship and available scholarships. Many students had never encountered the MedlinePlus database and were extremely surprised at the amount of information available to them.  A few students did admit that they were still trying to decide on a career and were quite engaging when asked about their foreseeable choices. It was quite apparent that both students and staff experienced a wonderful time and left looking forward to future Science Expo gatherings.

 

Posted in Health Fairs, News, South Texas, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News, Youth | Comments Off

Sea Saludable-Be Healthy

Women, invigorate your mind and body by attending the KLRN Women’s Health Conference!

Women’s Health Conference – “Women will be educated and empowered about their health and the decisions they make.” There will be keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and various health screenings from local vendors and sponsors.

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Search for health care leading Texans to Mexico

The Dallas Morning News and its Spanish-language sister Al Dia TX both recently published a very interesting story about US patients seeking care in Mexican hospitals — not just for “medical tourism” but even for emergency care. The article mentions that a bill considered in the Texas Lege this year would have allowed US insurers to cover services inside Mexico for Texans living within 75 miles of the border. The bill didn’t make it out of committee, but it’s just another sign that legislators — like even the hospital administrators quoted in the article — see treatment in Mexico as one way to address rising healthcare and insurance costs and continued high numbers of uninsured Texans.

As we look to the future, will one of our upcoming health information challenges in South Texas be to help US patients understand and safely navigate their healthcare options in Mexico?

Here’s the English-language article from the Dallas Morning News, y el mismo artículo en español de Al Dia TX.

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Senate Bill 98 Creates UT Health Science Center South Texas

This week, Texas Governor Rick Perry and other state and local officials were at the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen to sign Texas Senate Bill 98 and officially begin the process of creating a new four-year medical school in the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Governor Rick Perry and Dr. Leonel Vela, Dean of the Regional Academic Health Center at the ceremonial signing of SB 98.

Texas Governor Rick Perry and Dr. Leonel Vela, Dean of the Regional Academic Health Center at the ceremonial signing of SB 98 on Tuesday, September 1.

Currently, the RAHC serves as a branch campus of the UT Health Science Center San Antonio and provides opportunities for 3rd and 4th year medical students to gain clinical experience in the US-Mexico border region. The bill calls for the RAHC to be converted into a independent campus called The University of Texas Health Science Center South Texas.

With the founding of a four-year medical school in the region, officials hope that an increase in the number of much-needed health care professionals in the area will soon follow. With the formal passage of SB 98, state officials will immediately begin the work of funding the project.  An article in the September 2nd issue of the McAllen Monitor provides more information on this historic event.

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Some folk remedies have extremely high lead content

This recent article from the Brownsville Herald took an AP report regarding high lead content of certain folk remedies, and combined it with local reporting on sources of lead poisoning in the Valley. The article centered on a specific incident in Houston to report on several dangerous folk remedies which all contain extremely high levels of lead, including:

  • A generally Mexican folk remedy called greta, a yellow or bright orange powder that may be mixed with olive oil when given to treat diarrhea or stomach upset (“empacho“)
  • Another generally Mexican folk remedy called azarcón (also known as coral, maría luisa, rueda, alarcón or liga), a orange powder which may also be mixed with olive oil and given to treat stomach ailments like empacho
  • A generally Dominican folk remedy called litargirio, a yellow or peach-colored powder traditionally used for a variety of purposes including as a deodorant, foot fungicide, and burn or wound treatment
  • A number of ayurvedic remedies common in South Asian immigrant communities, including ghasard and mahayogaraj gugullu

According to the article, nearly 20% of lead poisoning cases in Harris County are blamed on traditional medicines.

Although Brownsville Herald reporter Melissa McEver was unable to find any local retail stores that acknowledged selling greta or azarcón, the national version of the story (see this version from the AP) reported that Harris County investigators had found that some storekeepers would keep such remedies “behind the counter,” bringing them out only for known customers. McEver did, however, quote a Region 11 DSHS official who indicated that pottery and ceramic dishes were found to be a source in many local cases of lead poisoning.

Additional resources:

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