June 9, 2017
People in six Texas
communities will receive disease-preventing and potentially life-saving
vaccinations, thanks to special grants from the Texas Medical Association’s (TMA’s) Be Wise —ImmunizeSM program. TMA recently awarded $13,500
in grants to physicians and TMA Alliance (TMAA) chapters to provide free and
low-cost vaccinations to uninsured and underinsured Texans in their hometowns.
Residents in
San Antonio, Austin, Whitehouse, New Braunfels, Conroe, and Cedar Park will
receive shots this summer through the special program.
TMA created the
Be Wise — Immunize Local Impact
Grants program in 2012
to enable members of TMA and TMAA (an organization of physician volunteers and their
spouses) to help ensure their communities are healthy by offering childhood,
adolescent, and adult vaccinations at special events and clinics. Members often
partner with local organizations to reach residents in need.
In five years,
TMA has awarded 66 grants totaling more than $123,000 to provide nearly 9,800
vaccinations across the state through the Local Impact Grants program. Be Wise
— Immunize and the Local Impact Grants are funded by the TMA Foundation (TMAF), TMA’s philanthropic arm.
“Vaccine-preventable
diseases, such as measles and whooping cough, are still a threat in Texas. Our
grant funding will help Texans avoid hospitalizations, hearing loss, and even
death that can be caused by these and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” said
TMAF President Leslie H. Secrest, MD, of Dallas.
Texas
physicians and shot-clinic volunteers will begin vaccinating Texans in the
select areas this month. In April, TMA awarded these grants, ranging from $1,350
to $2,500 each:
- Heather
Aguirre, DO, and Austin Primary Care Physicians in Austin will help prevent bacterial
pneumonia in the practice’s elderly Medicare patients by providing the
vaccination free this summer to people at higher risk who can’t afford the
copay or whose insurance doesn’t cover the vaccination.
- Bexar County Medical Society
(CMS) Alliance will
partner with the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District to provide
free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations for children during a
back-to-school vaccination drive during August.
- Lata Joshi,
MD, and Lone Star Family Health
Center in Conroe
will provide back-to-school vaccinations, along with a well-child visit, for
uninsured children in Montgomery County during August. The event will kick off
on Aug. 7, 1-7 pm, and continue Aug. 8-18, 1-5 pm. Appointments are required.
- Nandini
Kohli, MD, and Austin Primary Care Physicians in Cedar Park will help prevent bacterial
pneumonia in the practice’s elderly Medicare patients by providing the
vaccination free this summer to people at higher risk who can’t afford the
copay or whose insurance doesn’t cover the vaccination.
- Dorothy
Overman, MD, and Comal County Public Health in New Braunfels will offer a first-time
Saturday shot clinic on Aug. 12 from 9 am to 2 pm to prepare 50 children aged 4
to 6 for school. Appointments are recommended, but walk-ins are accepted.
- Smith County
Medical Society will
provide back-to-school vaccinations on Aug. 11 for students in Whitehouse
Independent School District who are eligible for the Texas Vaccines for
Children (VFC) Program or who have health insurance coverage that covers
vaccinations but the plan’s deductible hasn’t been met. The event, in
conjunction with the Northeast Texas Public Health District, will be from 9 am
to noon and 1-6 pm at the Whitehouse ISD Annex Building; shots will be
available on a first-come, first-served basis. Flu vaccinations also will be
offered in the fall.
TMA actively works to improve
vaccination rates in Texas through its Be Wise — Immunize program. More than 320,000
shots have been given to Texas children, adolescents, and adults since the
program began in 2004. TMAF funds the Be Wise program in 2017 through generous
support from H-E-B and TMF Health Quality Institute, along with contributions
from physicians and their families.
TMA is the largest state
medical society in the nation, representing more than 50,000 physician and
medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county
medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to
improve the health of all Texans. The TMA Foundation raises
funds to support the population health, quality of care, and science priority
initiatives of TMA and the family of medicine.
Be
Wise — Immunize is a service mark of the Texas Medical Association.
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Contact: Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear@texmed.org
Marcus Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512)
650-5336; email: marcus.cooper@texmed.org
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