{"id":4277,"date":"2015-10-09T19:24:21","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T19:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=4277"},"modified":"2015-10-09T19:24:26","modified_gmt":"2015-10-09T19:24:26","slug":"texas-am-launches-healthy-south-texas-to-empower-texans-to-live-healthier-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=4277","title":{"rendered":"Texas A&M Launches \u2018Healthy South Texas\u2019 to Empower Texans to Live Healthier Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Texas

Texas A&M AgriLife and TAMHSC are partnering to lead a comprehensive effort to reduce preventable diseases and their consequences in a 27-county area in South Texas. Photo: healthytexas.tamu.edu\/<\/p><\/div>\n

(Corpus Christi, Texas) \u2013 John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, along with Senator Juan \u201cChuy\u201d Hinojosa, today announced the launch of \u201cHealthy South Texas,\u201d a novel effort to reduce preventable diseases and their consequences throughout the region. The pilot program of the Healthy Texas Initiative, \u201cHealthy South Texas\u201d will combine the expertise of the Texas A&M Health Science Center with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service\u2019s one-of-a-kind, statewide reach to promote preventative health at the most local level of the community, improving the well-being of South Texans for generations to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the tools and techniques to improve the health of Texans have been, for the most part, available, what was missing was the comprehensive, multi-disciplinary team \u2013 with unparalleled statewide capabilities and assets \u2013 to transform the impossible into the inevitable,\u201d Sharp said. \u201cWe are doing for health what extension agents have done for agriculture for more than a century; essentially creating a new \u2018crop\u2019 of extension agents, poised to empower Texans to take control of their own health and wellness.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust last year, representatives from Texas A&M University announced our Healthy Texas Initiative, the first genuine \u2018land grant\u2019 solution to one of society\u2019s greatest challenges,\u201d said Michael K. Young, president of Texas A&M University. \u201cToday, thanks to the generous support of the Texas Legislature, the Healthy Texas pilot program will officially launch throughout South Texas, ensuring that future generations of Texans have the tools and information they need to lead healthier lives and make informed decisions based on research conducted through Texas A&M and the A&M System.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focusing on the highest impact diseases in the region, including diabetes, asthma and infectious disease, the initiative brings together experts from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, biomedical science, public health, architecture and extension to engage families, enhance education, promote behavior change, and improve quality of medical care and disease outcomes. The result of a $10 million investment from the 84th Texas Legislature, the program will initially be implemented in a 27-county region spanning South Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key to a strong and successful future for Texas is only possible if we ensure that the next generation of Texans is healthy and well-educated,\u201d said Senator Hinojosa, a McAllen native who represents District 20. \u201cThrough Texas A&M\u2019s combined health science capabilities and statewide agricultural extension outreach, Healthy South Texas will enable our region to meet its full potential as the most vibrant and productive part of Texas, and will serve as a model for improved health across the entire state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Utilizing a unique \u2018prevention is the solution\u2019 approach, the initiative will teach South Texans to take personal responsibility over their own health to reduce the burden of costly, preventable diseases.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlready present in 250 counties throughout the state, extension agents are expert at bringing agricultural research and information to the community \u2013 and disseminating it in a way that sticks for generations,\u201d said Susan Ballabina, Ph.D., associate director of program development at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. \u201cNow, working in-tandem with the health science center, we want to add healthier living to that mission. I\u2019m excited to encourage agents to engage families through effective nutrition, health and wellness programming throughout the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leveraging existing regional assets, the initiative merges expertise from across Texas A&M Health Science Center campuses in Corpus Christi with the Texas A&M Coastal Bend Health Education Center and Texas A&M College of Medicine; Texas A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy in Kingsville; Texas A&M School of Public Health and Texas A&M College of Nursing in McAllen; Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston; along with the Texas A&M College of Architecture\u2019s Colonias Program; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Texas A&M International University-Laredo; and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, currently present in every county. Additionally, through partnerships with hospitals and clinics throughout the region, \u201cHealthy South Texas\u201d will reduce the overall health care costs associated with preventable diseases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our integrated efforts, we will expand and maintain prevention services at the most local level of the community, at a time when health outcomes can be improved at a fraction of the cost when compared to expensive \u2018late stage\u2019 medical treatments in hospital settings,\u201d said Scott Lillibridge, M.D., director of health initiatives at The Texas A&M University System and professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health. \u201cThis innovative program will serve the region as a whole, while developing tools, technologies and strategies that can be applied to public health challenges around the state. In doing so, we will improve the health of Texans for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HealthySouthTexas2\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Corpus Christi, Texas) \u2013 John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, along with Senator Juan \u201cChuy\u201d Hinojosa, today announced the launch of \u201cHealthy South Texas,\u201d a novel effort to reduce preventable diseases and their consequences throughout the region. The pilot program of the Healthy Texas Initiative, \u201cHealthy South Texas\u201d will combine the expertise […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-valley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4280,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277\/revisions\/4280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}