TMA GRANTS - In support of TMA’s population health, science, and quality of care priorities
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. 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 educates 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 supports grants to county medical societies and TMA Alliance and medical student chapters that want to bring the campaign’s message into their communities through outreach and opportunities to become vaccinated.
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 (DMS, formerly the Minority Scholarship Program): Established in 1998, the scholarships were 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.”
TMA Alliance Texas Bookshare: The BookShare program promotes healthy habits in children of all ages by supplying them with books on topics such as the importance of physical activity, growing fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a healthy diet. County chapters collaborate with local pediatricians and family physicians to distribute books to young patients. 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.
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 2022, Lubbock, Midland and Travis County Medical Societies each were granted two $5,000 scholarships and Bexar Alliance two $750 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 2022, Midland and Travis County Medical Societies each were granted two $5,000 scholarships and Bexar Alliance two $750 scholarships to award through their programs.
TMAF Radha, Naren & Hitaine Endowment for Medical Student Scholarships by Shakuntala and Mahendra Patel, MD: This endowment support a scholarships to Texas medical school students with the following recipient criteria: awarded to a Texas medical school student entering the second, third or fourth year of medical school is determined by the recipient’s Texas medical school to need financial aid; self-identifies as Hispanic, Asian, or Black and describes through an essay, an aspiration to serve low-income Texans. This scholarship is administered through the Lubbock County Medical Society and its medical student scholarship program in concert with Texas Tech University Health Science Center School of Medicine in Lubbock.
COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND ALLIANCE CHAPTERS – Medical Community Grants
NEW! Remote Disabled Patient Health Monitoring Program/El Paso County Medical Society: The program assists patients from allowing simple health issues to become catastrophic, thereby improving participants' healthcare utilization and outcomes. This pilot will be carried out under the auspices of RotaCare's Physiatry and Sports Medicine Specialty Clinic and provides 10 disabled patients with telehealth devices, supervised care, and personalized education. The program team will develop patient treatment plans, perform check-ins, and remotely monitor patient vitals collected via telehealth devices.
Promoting Emotional Wellness and Healthy Hygiene Habits with Elementary Students/The Nueces County Medical Society Alliance: NCMS and Alliance will address how the overall health of a child impacts their potential success in school utilizing their “Reading with a Doc” program and the assembly of hygiene kits to support the students' needs for specific hygiene and health related items such as lice shampoo and maxi pads as well as gently used replacement clothing for the students.
Diabetes Care for the Underserved in Williamson County/Travis County Medical Alliance and Foundation: Travis County Medical Alliance members will provide hands-on volunteer assistance for the Sacred Heart Community Clinic's Diabetic Care Program. The program provides medical supplies, prescription medications, and nutrition education to enhance overall health and quality of life for people with chronic health conditions.
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, donated ancillary services, charitable community clinics, and other providers to serve the uninsured working poor. Since inception in 2011, PATC has enrolled more than 2,100 patients and provided more than $18 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 (TCMSAF): With a membership of more than 35 organizations including TCMSAF, this program annually provides 1) low cost vaccine events serving more than 7,000 eligible children and adults 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.
Physician Wellness Program/Travis County Medical Society: The TCMS PWP offers counseling sessions to TCMS members and their spouses/partners as well as an annual CME symposium focused on specific aspects of physician wellness, such as stress and burnout. The PWP publishes a weekly email distributed to all members that provides a variety of resources for physician health and well-being.
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 Health Fair/Baylor College of Medicine: This annual event addresses the healthcare inequities faced by Houston's underserved refugee population by providing direct medical and preventative health services, education about health and wellbeing, and resources for greater access to care. Working with various local refugee aid organizations and resettlement agencies, the students provide refugees with culturally competent resources to navigate the Harris Health System and other local services, thus allowing an easier transition to self-sustained living.
NEW! Skin Talks/Baylor College of Medicine: Skin Talks is a public service-learning initiative to educate underserved populations about skin health and the prevention of dermatological conditions through community outreach. The program aims to curate educational environments to openly talk about skin health in underrepresented populations to spread awareness of dermatologic issues that affect these groups and ultimately increase inclusivity and representation in the field of dermatology.
Seventh Annual HOPE Health Fair/University of Texas Medical Branch: This collaborative event integrates Family Practice Physicians, TMA members, and students from UTMB's school of medicine, nursing, and occupational therapy to connect vulnerable patients in the greater Galveston area with health/support services.
NEW! Project Momentum: A Health Initiative for Justice-Involved Youths/UT Southwestern: This new student led project partners with Cafe Momentum, a non-profit that serves previously incarcerated youths ages 15-18 within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to empower each youth to prioritize and maintain their health beyond the duration of the program and combat adverse childhood experiences. The program will focus educational sessions on healthy eating habits, mental health awareness, understanding the impacts of alcohol and substance use, and other objectives based on the Center for Disease Control health education curriculum. The program strives to foster a greater sense of community through one-on-one peer mentoring and a navigation system to help individuals overcome barriers to preventive and mental health care.
NEW! HOLA (Health Outreach and Literacy Alliance) Amigos Mobile Clinic/Texas Tech University Health Science Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine: HOLA Amigos Mobile Clinic utilizes an interdisciplinary approach that brings together local physicians, residents, medical students, and pre-medical students of diverse educational backgrounds to help El Paso’s unhoused communities access quality, continued care. This includes social work services, clinical care, and preventative measures.
NEW! Maroon Health Free Clinic/Texas A&M College of Medicine - Houston Campus: Maroon Health is a Texas A&M medical student-run free clinic in the Houston area. Current initiatives include a partnership with Open Gate Homeless Ministries, for whom the clinic provides medical care biweekly to unhoused participants in Montrose. The program meets participants where they are at the outreach center to provide same-day well checks, sick visits, and patient education that they otherwise would not have the opportunity to receive.
NEW! Kids to the Rescue/UT Southwestern TMA Medical Student Chapter: Kids to the Rescue is a student-run organization founded on the principle that by teaching children the basics of first aid, it will make communities safer. Through partnerships with local elementary schools, the program will host interactive and engaging assemblies for fifth graders covering simple lifesaving techniques. The program aims to fill the gap in first aid training for students while simultaneously encouraging interest in medicine and STEM-related fields.
NEW! Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP)/UT Southwestern TMA Medical Student Chapter: HELP at UTSW is a volunteer program aimed at reducing rates of delirium in hospitalized elderly patients and introducing pre-clerkship medical students and pre-medical undergraduate students to medical care for the elderly. Students volunteer at the hospital, providing geriatric patients with cognitive orientation, communication, and social support; their volunteer experiences are also augmented with monthly educational lectures on geriatrics topics.