San José Clinic provides comprehensive health
care services for uninsured individuals and families in southeast Texas who
struggle to access care.
“We’re
especially pleased to have this funding so we can continue to provide the
vaccine to our young adult patients,” said Mary Neal, MD, long-time volunteer healthcare
provider at San José Clinic. The TMA physician member said this vaccination is
particularly important because the majority of the clinic population is
Hispanic, and this population is especially at risk of developing cervical and
penile cancers from HPV infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
HPV
is the most common infection in the nation spread through intimate skin-to-skin
or sexual contact. Almost
all — eight in 10 — sexually active people will have the virus sometime in
their lives. Most HPV infections will go away, but some will not. These cases
have the potential to cause cancer and genital warts years or even decades
later. The HPV vaccination can prevent most types of the infection.
For
best protection, physicians and other health experts
recommend 11- and 12-year-old boys and girls get the HPV vaccination. Experts
also recommend older
teens and young adults who were not vaccinated in adolescence get the HPV
vaccine. Both males and females can get the shots until age 26.
TMA created the
Be Wise — Immunize Local Impact
Grants program in 2012
to enable members of TMA and the Texas Medical Association Alliance (an
organization of physician volunteers and 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 84 grants totaling $157,600 to provide more than 12,000
vaccinations across the state through the Local Impact Grants program. TMA Foundation (TMAF), TMA’s philanthropic arm, funds Be
Wise — Immunize and the Local Impact Grants.
“HPV
vaccination is so important to prevent cancers down the road,” said TMAF
President Leslie H. Secrest, MD, of Dallas. “TMA Foundation is pleased to be
part of this effort to help these Houston residents lead healthier lives.”
TMA actively works to improve
vaccination rates in Texas through its Be Wise — Immunize program. TMA has
given nearly 330,000 immunizations 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 has
published a downloadable infographic about HPV vaccination, in
English and Spanish.
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.
San José Clinic, the original safety-net clinic in Houston, is a
leading provider of quality healthcare services for individuals and families in
the Greater Houston area who struggle the most with accessing care. The Clinic
provides primary and specialty medical and dental care as well as vision,
laboratory and pharmacy services. San José Clinic is a Texas Medical Center
institution, a United Way agency and a ministry of the Archdiocese of
Galveston-Houston.
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Be
Wise — Immunize is a service mark of the Texas Medical Association.
Contact: Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear[at]texmed[dot]org
Marcus Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512)
650-5336; email: marcus.cooper[at]texmed[dot]org
Connect with TMA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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