TMA and TMAA GRANTS
In support of TMA’s population health, science, and quality of care priorities
NEW! Vaccines Defend What Matters (VDWM): VDWM is TMA’s integrated, multimedia education and advocacy effort to overcome vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccination rates in Texas. This message is especially critical now that there are approved COVID-19 vaccines. While people are hearing mixed messages about the safety of vaccines, VDWM sends a strong message from today’s medical heroes that choosing to be immunized against COVID-19 and other infectious disease safeguards good health, jobs, schools, and the Texas economy.
VDWM replaces TMA’s Be Wise – Immunize community education and outreach program after a 16-year run. VDWM will educate leaders and policymakers about the importance of vaccines, physicians on how to counter vaccine hesitancy in their patients, and the public on the impact immunization can have on their lives. VDWM will support individual county medical societies and TMA Alliance and medical student chapters that want to bring the campaign’s message into their communities through outreach that can be supported with a grant, including sharing the information with their members and the public via social media.
TMA’s Hard Hats for Little Heads (HHLH): HHLH encourages safe exercise and prevention of life-altering or fatal brain injuries in Texas children engaged in wheeled sports. Since inception in 1994, more than 350,000 free helmets have been given to youths aged 14 and younger at community events such as bicycle safety rodeos and health fairs. TMA and TMA Alliance members and community collaborators educate parents and children about the importance of wearing a properly fitted helmet when bicycling, inline skating, skateboarding, or riding a scooter.
TMA’s Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching: TMA is committed to elevating the importance of science in our modern society by recognizing and rewarding outstanding science teachers in elementary and junior and senior high schools. Since 1990, TMA has helped increase science literacy by providing cash awards to winning teachers and their schools to enhance their science curriculum.
TMA’s Diversity in Medicine Scholarship Program: Established in 1998, TMA’s Diversity in Medicine Scholarship Program was designed as a unique means to fill a gap brought about by the Hopwood ruling barring public medical schools from offering minority-specific scholarships. In Texas, minority groups underrepresented regarding population-to-physician ratios are Hispanic, Black, and Native American. Annually, a qualified student entering each of Texas’ medical schools is selected to receive a $10,000 scholarship and named a “Bayardo Scholar” after Dr. and Mrs. Roberto Bayardo who established an endowment that provides major support for this program.
Walk with a Doc Texas (WWAD): WWAD engages physicians, their patients, and the community in healthy physical activity to reverse the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle, especially obesity. During the pandemic, the program has shifted primarily to virtual “walks.”
NEW! TMA Alliance Texas Bookshare: The BookShare program promotes healthy habits in children of all ages by supplying them with books on topics like the importance of physical activity, growing fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a healthy diet. County chapters partner with local pediatricians and family doctors to distribute the books to young patients, and each book includes a personal message from an alliance member written inside.
History of Medicine Banner Program: This program enables TMA’s History of Medicine Committee to offer the seven exhibit banner sets to schools, libraries and other venues that educate the public on a range of health and medical subjects, enhance the image of physicians, and encourage the pursuit of research and science education. The banners promote TMA’s patient health advocacy goals through education and historical content.
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS RESOURCES DURING COVID-19
Spurred by the demands and circumstances of delivering care during the COVID-19 pandemic, TMA established its Caring for Physician Healers: Mental Health and Wellness Resources During COVID-19 Fund with support from The Pfizer Foundation.
NEW! Women in Medicine Physician Health and Wellness/Bell County Medical Society: This program provides leader training in the “Finding Meaning in Medicine” program and facilitates virtual meetings throughout Bell county. Driven by the Bell CMS Women in Medicine Physician Health and Wellness (WIMPHW) Task Force, the program will use gender-specific group interaction to reduce burnout and improved retention and engagement for women physicians.
Emotional PPE Project/Dallas County Medical Society: This program is a collaboration between Dallas County Medical Society (DCMS) and the national Emotional PPE Project. The Emotional PPE Project is a robust, nationally built-out program created in May of 2020 to address the mental health crisis among healthcare workers that has been exacerbated due to COVID-19. The Project has volunteer mental health counselors mobilized nationwide with capacity to serve any healthcare worker, free of charge, anywhere in the country. As of September 1st, healthcare workers in 21 states have accessed the service and are received counseling.
NEW! Yoga-- A practice to build self-regulation and higher consciousness/Ector County Medical Society: This 90-minute, bi-weekly yoga session with experienced instructors is offered to address physician’s well-being and the stress during the pandemic. The classes will be conducted via Zoom to teach various stress management techniques, breathing exercises and balance poses.
NEW! Physicians Connecting and Contributing/Lubbock County Medical Society: This program consists weekly meetings of small groups of four physicians each. A certified life coach will cover a different topic at each session including 1) Finances, 2) Relationships (family and colleagues as well as staff and workplace), 3) Compulsions, 4) Self-Care, 4) Mentoring/Leadership, and 5) Compassion.
LifeBridge/McLennan County Medical Society: This program recognizes the issues physicians face in medicine today, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides a resource for handling these challenges in a safe and positive environment. The LifeBridge Program offers an outlet for physicians experiencing: 1) burnout; 2) chronic stress; 3) depression; 4) addiction; and 5) distress by making available up to four counseling or coaching sessions with a licensed therapist per year at no cost to the physician.
NEW! Physician Wellness Program/Smith County Medical Society: This program will cast a broad safety net over physician members by intensely focusing on helping with awareness and improvement of their mental health and well-being. Once developed, the program will 1) introduce health and wellness topics via an annual video conference, and provide monthly instruction on meditation, exercise, and yoga practices; 2) provide online educational resources; and 3) provide a confidential counseling and coaching program to member physicians.
Physician Wellness Program/Travis County Medical Society: The Physician Wellness Program is designed to be a safe harbor for physicians to address normal life difficulties in a confidential and professional environment by providing 1) a confidential counseling/intervention service to physicians in need; and 2) opportunities for physicians to share experiences in small groups and participate in educational events including the nationally recognized “Finding Meaning in Medicine” monthly video conference.
FAMILY OF FUNDS
The Family of Funds (FOF) is the umbrella for TMAF funds and endowments that support the charitable health improvement and education goals of TMA and TMAA members and the related efforts of TMA county medical societies and TMA alliance and medical student chapters.
TMAF Hispanic Nursing Scholarship Trust Fund of Dr. Roberto J. and Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo: This inaugural trust under the FOF provides eight scholarships annually for nursing students in Harris and Travis counties and is administered by the Harris County Medical Society Alliance Philanthropic Fund and the Travis County Medical Society Alliance Foundation. The scholarship has grown from $4,500 each in 2017 to $10,000 since 2020.
TMAF Medical Student Scholarship and Grant Trust Fund of Dr. Roberto J. and Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo: TMA County Medical Societies and alliance chapters that have a medical student scholarship program may apply for one scholarship grant up to $5,000 that matches the amount of the CMS or alliance scholarship. In 2020, Lubbock, Midland and Travis County Medical Societies each were granted two $5,000 scholarships to award through their programs. This fund also supports TMAF community health grants to TMA medical student chapters.
TMAF Hispanic Medical Student Scholarship Fund of Dr. Roberto J. and Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo: This fund provides scholarships to Hispanic individuals accepted to or attending a Texas medical school. Grants are based on TMAF board approved funding requests from TMA County Medical Societies or alliance chapters that have a medical student scholarship program and meet the fund requirements. In 2020, Midland and Travis County Medical Societies each were granted two $5,000 scholarships to award through their programs.
COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND ALLIANCE CHAPTERS – Medical Community Grants
County medical societies and alliance and TMA medical student chapters may apply for a grant to support their community health improvement initiative focused on any TMA priorities in the areas of population health and science and TMA organizational focus areas of population health, medical education, and quality of care.
NEW! Promoting Literacy and Healthy Habits in a Title 1 School/The Nueces County Medical Society Alliance: This program promotes literacy and healthy habits to economically disadvantaged students at George Evans Elementary School, a Title 1 school in Corpus Christi. Local alliance members and their physician spouses (in their white coats) read virtually or in-person each month to students, many of whom might never have met a doctor. The grant will fund a new reading comprehension curriculum and donate gently used books. The Nueces CMS Alliance will assemble hygiene kits for 350 students that include shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other toiletries, along with gently used clothing.
Northeast Texas Public Health District "Health on Wheels"/Smith County Medical Society: The Northeast Texas Public Health District will bolster existing community health programs and services to residents of 21 East Texas counties with a donated Mobile Coach from Carter BloodCare. Among the outreach efforts will be the provision of mobile immunization services for children and adults in Wood County and rural Smith County.
NEW! St. Vincent’s Pharmacy Project/Galveston County Medical Society: Through this program the St. Vincent’s Clinics will expand the free pharmacy services offered to the patients charitable clinics in Galveston, Texas. This program will improve pharmacy management and integrate with a new electronic medical record system. The long term vision for this project is to establish an on-site community pharmacy that works closely with patients and the local community.
Project Access Tarrant County/Tarrant County Medical Society: Project Access Tarrant County (PATC) is a community collaboration that provides compassionate specialty care at no charge for Tarrant County’s uninsured. A network of volunteer TMA member physicians collaborate with hospitals, donating ancillary services, charitable community clinics, and other providers to serve the target population of the uninsured working poor. To date, PATC has enrolled more than 1,300 patients and has provided more than $11.5 million in donated care that this population would have been otherwise unable to obtain.
Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County (ICTC)/Tarrant County Medical Society Alliance Foundation: With a membership of more than 35 organizations including TCMSAF, this program provides 1) low cost vaccine events that provide more than 7,000 eligible children and adults annually with required vaccines for kindergarten, 7th grade and college school registrations; 2) vaccine education for parents, the community, health care workers and providers through website and social media channels and; 3) vaccine advocacy collaboration with TMA and The Immunization Partnership leading to science-based vaccine policies.
TMA MEDICAL STUDENT CHAPTERS – Medical Student Community Leadership Grants
Funding for these grants is made possible by the TMAF Medical Student Scholarship and Grant Trust Fund of Dr. Roberto J. and Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo.
Alliance Refugee Wellness Fair/Baylor College of Medicine: This annual event provides direct medical and preventative health services, education about health and wellbeing, and access to medical care resources to Harris County’s underserved refugee population. In partnership with several area not-for-profit refugee resettlement agencies, the fair provides refugees with culturally competent resources to navigate the Harris Health System.
NEW! Take Control: Home Blood Pressure Monitoring in Virtual Care/Baylor College of Medicine: This program helps Harris Health System’s impoverished and uninsured patients improve and maintain a healthy blood pressure. One hundred patients diagnosed with uncontrolled high blood pressure also will receive a free blood pressure monitoring machine to take their own readings. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to serious health complications including heart attacks and strokes. Program participants also will be able to consult with TMA students and physicians on diet and physical exercise.
HOPE Health Fair /University of Texas Medical Branch: This collaborative event provides vaccines, health screenings, and a meal to homeless and uninsured individuals in Galveston. The UTMB TMA, Family Medicine Interest Group and Gold Humanism Honor Society work with St. Vincent’s Student Run Clinic to host the second annual HOPE (Helping Others Through Partnered Empowerment) Health Fair.
Feed My Sheep Mobile Pediatric Clinic/Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine: This free clinic is a volunteer-based mobile clinic that provides healthcare to medically underserved children in Central Texas with a primary focus on the uninsured. Students will take the van to low-income areas of the community to serve children with limited transportation and financial resources.
Community Week/Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine: This six-day event provides information, care, and services to the uninsured of Brazos County. The final day teaches community members how to connect with people and local resources. Community Week is a collaboration with the colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy, the School of Public Health, and others.
Breast Cancer Screening in Underserved Populations/Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso: The medical student run clinic of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine currently provides care free of charge to those of the Sparks Colonia in rural El Paso County. This includes regular clinic visits, sports physicals and breast cancer screening services. This grants enables breast health education and mammography services to reach the Agua Dulce Colonia.
NEW! STEM Education and Empowerment Course/UT Southwestern (UTSW): This is an empowerment and education course offered online after-school for Dallas-Fort Worth middle school students who are homeless or live in lower-income neighborhoods. The UTSW chapter, along with the Center of Hope shelter and Brother Bills Helping Hands, provide students hands-on activities and lessons about careers in STEM fields. Students also hear from people who work in each profession. Parents and their children meet one-on-one with UT Southwestern faculty and medical students to discuss higher education and plans for their child’s education. The course is designed to motivate students to potentially pursue a STEM-based career and fill the educational gap distance learning has caused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NEW! Patient Navigator Program/UT Southwestern (UTSW): Medical students from UTSW partner with the Union Gospel Mission, a community ministry that shelters people and families experiencing homelessness and provides health care in its Dallas clinics. The medical students set short-term health goals with each patient. Together they explore local community resources patients can access to improve and maintain good health. Students learn about barriers underserved patients must overcome when seeking medical treatment. Through this program, patients receive consistent primary and preventive care rather than going to hospitals for urgent treatment, a common occurrence for people experiencing homelessness. The program also was honored as first place in the TMAF 2021 John P. McGovern Champion of Health Awards.