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Health outreach programs are extremely important to the border. Promotoras and the mobile health units are valuable tools in reaching communities that normally don't receive much needed health care services. Juan Hinojosa, Texas State Senator
The Texas colonias (meaning communities in Spanish) are the unincorporated, isolated subdivisions along the Texas-Mexico border. They are characterized by substandard housing, inadequate plumbing and sewage disposal systems and inadequate access to clean water. There are no adequate solid waste disposal facilities available. These conditions result in the potential and immediate health threat due to inadequate or lack of safe, potable water and sewage disposal. Sanitation and health conditions in these areas compare to those in undeveloped countries.
The Colonias Telehealth program helps to improve access to health and dental services and provide health and dental education for colonias residents through the use of mobile medical units. Funds are used to purchase the telecommunications link between the mobile vans and fixed facilities such as universities and hospitals. Telemedicine is the use of electronic audio, visual and data communications to help with health care diagnosis, consultation and treatment. It also can be used to educate patients and to transfer medical data.
Medical Mobile Clinic
A mobile medical clinic is a van equipped with medical equipment and staff. The clinic operated by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H) for the last 16 years focuses on Hidalgo County and provides health education, diagnosis, treatment and disease prevention for a population that is isolated from services, has a lack of health care professionals, limited finances and a lack of transportation.
The clinics serve colonias developments that are some of the most medically underserved communities in the nation. In 2003, the mobile clinic provided services to over 3,000 colonia patients and gave immunizations to 2,287 colonia children as well as providing clinical rotations for 32 third year nursing students (UT-Pan American). Physicians from the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Internal Medicine provided colonias patient teleconsultations using the new H.323 teleconferencing network.
Medical School Project
The Medical School project continues to provide primary health care to the underserved population along the Texas-Mexico border in the colonias located in Hidalgo County. The medical mobile van provided a rural clinical education site for nursing students from UT-Pan American and 3rd year medical students from UTHSC-San Antonio. The clinic was CLIA certified by the federal government with the Texas-Mexico Border Coordinator as the Laboratory Consultant, and Dr. McNeese, the Project Director, serving as Medical Director. In addition, a joint project between UT-Houston and UT Pan American has led to the development of low-literacy health promotion brochures in Spanish and English on the topics of anemia and menopause. These brochures are being distributed to the clinics and hospitals throughout the Texas-Mexico Border region to provide patient education in areas that previously had a major chasm in health promotional materials in Spanish.
Medical Van Telehealth Operations in the Valley
The Texas Department of Health (staffed with UTHSC-San Antonio staff and students), UTHSC-Houston, and Texas A&M HSC all use mobile medical vans to conduct telehealth operations in the valley. Each mobile medical van provide these essential services at the remote location:
- primary health care
- diabetic screening
- immunizations (including hepatitis A)
- dental examinations and panarex x-rays
- general health screening
- eye examinations
- health and dental education.
SECO has contracted to provide funds for the transportation operations (personnel, fuel, maintenance & repair) of these vehicles and also to provide a telecommunications link via a satellite connection for telehealth and distance learning for each vehicle.
Telehealth Education for the Colonia Children
For the past 3 years, Fellows from the UTHSC-H Department of Family and Community Medicine have presented seven health education programs per year via interactive distance learning to 230 fourth and fifth graders in three school districts within the border colonias.
Cantu Telemedicine Clinic
Through funding from the Cullen Foundation (2004), the UTHSC-H has established a collaboration with Mission CISD to have a school-based telemedicine clinic as a pilot project at Cantu Elementary in the colonia of Alton. The telemedicine equipment was purchased in May, 2004 with the initiation of the clinic planned for the 2004 academic year. |
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Also see:
Physician Wellness Interactive Sessions for Schools in Texas Colonias
Kathy Becan-McBride, Director of Community and Educational Outreach at UTHSC-H created this 2003 PowerPoint presentation.
UT-Houston Telehealth Pilot Program Report
Medicine on the Move
An article in Fiscal Notes, a Texas Comptroller publication.
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