ARCHIVE NEWS - Issue 11

Workforce Diversity Conference Accepting Proposals

South Texas AHEC at UTHSCSA Science Expo

South Central AHEC Sponsors Teen Health Camp

22nd Annual Update in Medicine Conference

The Nurses Role in TB Control

Health Fair in Rural Texas

South Texas AHEC Adopts New Data Management System

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Issue 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The Texas AHECs’ series of conferences on Health Care Workforce Diversity is now accepting applications for presentations, as well as for sponsorship and exhibits and participant registrations. The South Texas AHEC conference will be held in McAllen, Texas, on July 12-13, 2007, at the Renaissance Casa de Palmas Hotel. Please visit the conference website at http://www.hwdc.org/ for more information about this conference, or contact Sherry Snider at 210-567-7813.

Back to Top

South Central AHEC was pleased to be among the many sponsors for the Teen Health Camp held on November 11th at Edison High School in San Antonio. The Teen Health Camp is an opportunity for middle and high school students to interface with health professionals and health professions students about the opportunities of a health career past high school. Curriculum of the day included:

• How to Put in Stitches,
• How to Put On and Remove Casts
• Life as a Teen Parent
• HIV/AIDS
• Building Muscle/Losing Fat/Nutrition

A record-breaking 230 new middle and high school students participated, with 50 previous Teen Medical Academy students also helping out. The participants came from Uvalde, Medina, Frio, Atascosa, Wilson, Karnes, and Bexar counties. Teen Health Camp is held quarterly during the school year and culminates in an expanded activity entitled Teen Medical Academy held in the spring. The Program Director is Dr. Manuel Angel who is faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
 

Back to Top

The MRGB AHEC presented the 22nd Annual Update in Medicine Conference at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio - Laredo Campus Extension, D.D. Hachar Building, on October 13th & 14th, 2006. This annual conference provides an opportunity for the medical community - physicians, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals and medical students - to obtain continuing education credits and at the same time receive up-to-date information on a wide range of medical topics. This year’s program included topics on infectious diseases, cancer, cardiology, osteoporosis, mental health, nutrition, sleep apnea, diabetes, robotics in urology, and depression. Some of the comments made by the participants include “excellent venue – good presentations and topics” “everything was excellent!” A total of 305 participants attended the 2-day event.

Back to Top

The Mid Rio Grande Border AHEC, in collaboration with the South Central AHEC, the South Coastal AHEC and the HeartLand National TB Center, is offering a teleconference series entitled The Nurses Role in TB Control. This teleconference series provides an opportunity for the AHEC Centers in Texas, Oklahoma and Illinois to connect, via satellite, with the HeartLand National TB Center to provide valuable information regarding the nurse’s role in controlling the effects of tuberculosis. On October 17, 2006, the Mid Rio Grande Border AHEC hosted the second of the 4-part series at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio- Laredo Campus Extension, D.D. Hachar Building. A total of 25 participants attended this teleconference. For more information on the final session of the series scheduled for December 12, go to http://southtexas.uthscsa.edu/AHEC/HeartlandTB/index.html.

South Coastal AHEC recently partnered with Frontera de Salud to sponsor a health fair in Robstown, Texas. Seventeen medical students, with the help of other students, physicians, and community health professionals cared for the residents in Robstown. Over 65 patients were examined and treated. They also educated the residents about the availability of health care for lower income families at CHRISTUS Spohn Family Health Center in Robstown. It is a great feeling helping people in need while meeting our mission....training health professionals for South Texas. Our plan is to continue partnering with Frontera de Salud in helping spread medical care and teaching in the needy areas of South Texas.

The South Texas AHEC, reluctantly, is saying goodbye to Cathy Cox of the South Central AHEC. Cathy has been a vital part of our AHEC team for the past 11 years and is often cited as our collective historian. Always a team-player, Cathy could be counted on to pitch in and help out wherever there was a need in the AHEC program. Her attention to detail and particular skill at “nagging” made her both beloved and feared by all associated with the program.

Cathy has accepted a position with the Department of Psychology at UTHSCSA, so she will be gone, but not so far that we can’t keep in touch or call her when we need her vast knowledge of the AHEC and its history. We wish her all the best as she advances her career.

The South Texas AHEC has joined the East and West Texas AHECs in utilizing the iAHEC data management system. The new system allows tracking of AHEC activities and participants in a way that provides information and reports relevant to institutional requirements, state requirements, and federal requirements. The change has required a new system for collecting information and, while not without its challenges, the new collection mechanisms are now in place and operational. We are excited about joining forces with our sister AHEC programs to provide a more detailed and accurate picture of what we are accomplishing in our respective regions and across the state.

Lower Rio Grande Valley

Mid Rio Grande Valley

South Central

South Coastal

Winter Garden