Feb. 14, 2018
Texans from the panhandle to
the Rio Grande Valley will benefit from $11,420 in Texas Medical Association Foundation (TMAF) grant funding for health-improvement
projects. TMAF awarded the funds to four county medical societies, TMA medical
student chapters, and county chapters of the TMA
Alliance (TMA physician
members and their spouses who volunteer for TMA outreach programs). The 2017-18
TMAF Medical Community Grant Programs fund health improvement programs that increase
people’s health care access in local communities. The funds will combat human
trafficking, vaccinate underserved people, help patients with Parkinson’s disease, and improve health for underserved residents
along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I want to congratulate all of
the 2018 grant recipients,” said Leslie Secrest, MD, president of TMAF, TMA’s
philanthropic arm (at left). “We believe these organizations will play a big role in
improving the health of Texans, and I am proud that the TMA Foundation is
partnering with them.”
This year’s grant recipients are (in
alphabetical order):
- The Lubbock-Crosby-Garza County Medical Society
(LCGMS) received a grant of $1,320 to raise
awareness about the problem of human sex trafficking of minors in
Texas. The Lubbock
Anti-Sex Trafficking Project is
a collaboration among local organizations to create safe havens for children
who could fall victim to sex trafficking. The group affixes stickers across
Lubbock with advice on how potential victims can get help. “The funding from
TMAF will make a huge difference in the number of stickers — with the national
sex trafficking hotline number — that we can purchase to place in local
businesses’ restrooms,” said Melinda Garcia Schalow, MD, project committee
co-chair. “Public restrooms are often the only place where a victim will
receive a few moments of privacy to memorize or retain the number for help.”
- The
TMA Medical Student Section chapter of the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston received $2,600 in TMAF grant funding
for Frontera de Salud, a student-based community health project to address
health disparities and promote healthy living for residents along the
Texas-Mexico border. The program provides an opportunity for medical and public
health students to serve the community’s health needs while practicing their
health care skills. “It is truly an honor to receive this grant, and we are
privileged to now have an opportunity to make our organization greater than
ever before,” said Ben Danna, TMA chapter president at McGovern Medical School.
“We have an upcoming trip to south Texas this weekend, and TMAF’s generosity
has already allowed us to restock diabetes test strips and glucose monitors to
use there. This is all thanks to TMAF.”
- The Tarrant County
Medical Society (TCMS) Alliance Foundation will use its $3,750 in TMAF
Medical Community Grant funding for the Immunization
Collaboration of Tarrant County. The collaboration will provide low-cost vaccines for 7,000 eligible
children, teens, and adults through TMA’s Be Wise — ImmunizeSM program, a public health
initiative to improve vaccination rates in Texas through education and hands-on
immunization clinics. “TCMS
Alliance Foundation is grateful for TMA Foundation’s continued support for our Be
Wise — Immunize project partnering with Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant
County,” said Terri Andrews, chair of the Tarrant County initiative. “The
funding will be applied to low-cost vaccine events as well as the important
expansion of internet and social media education about the importance and
safety of immunizations.”
- The
Travis
County Medical Society
will receive $3,750 for its Power for
Parkinson’s initiative. The effort provides free group fitness and dance
classes, singing groups, and social activities for Austin-area people with
Parkinson's disease and their care partners. “This grant will help Power for Parkinson’s raise
awareness among the Travis County medical community as well as allow us to
expand programming to improve the well-being of the local Parkinson’s community
through free exercise, dance, and singing classes,” said Nina Mosier, MD, Power
for Parkinson’s director.
(One additional grant was originally announced, but the applicant notified TMAF they have withdrawn the application.)
Each year,
local medical society and alliance chapters may apply for up to $7,500 in
matching funds from the TMAF Medical Community Grant Program. Medical student chapters may apply for
up to $3,000 in matching funds from the TMAF
Medical Student Community Leadership Grants Program. The TMA Foundation board approved the
grant funding during its meeting at TMA Winter Conference in January.
TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation,
representing more than 51,000 physician and medical student members. It is
located in Austin and has 112 component county medical societies around the
state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.
The TMA Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) organization that raises funds to support
the population health, science, and quality-of-care priority initiatives of TMA
and the Family of Medicine.
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Be Wise — Immunize is a service mark of the
Texas Medical Association.
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