North Texas County Societies Launch “One Trusted Voice” on Health Care
By David Doolittle

2.20rogers

Several North Texas county medical societies have formed a coalition to collectively address health issues throughout the region.

The North Texas Medical Society Coalition, which is made up of the Collin-Fannin, Dallas, Denton, Grayson, and Tarrant county societies, will be “one trusted voice on health-related issues affecting our community, free of any political bias,” said Little Elm internist John Flores, MD, chair of the coalition.

Its goals include:

  • Using regional data to help shape state and local public policy decisions;
  • Educating the community about public health best practices;
  • Promoting evidence-based health recommendations during crises; and
  • Adapting the health care system to protect patients, physicians, and other health care professionals.

As restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted, the coalition recently reminded North Texas residents to continue prevention practices, such as washing hands and maintaining safe distances.

The recommendations are particularly important in the area’s smaller and rural counties, which don’t have the same hospital capacity as the area’s larger counties, the coalition said. If those hospitals become overwhelmed, patients might seek care in Dallas and Fort Worth, placing a larger burden on those cities’ hospitals.

“We have a highly mobile population in North Texas, making us more vulnerable to a rapid spread of the coronavirus,” Fort Worth allergist Robert Rogers, MD, (pictured above) said in a statement. “This has already spread across the globe, and it’s only 90 miles from Sherman to Fort Worth.”

Find more information on the coalition’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

You also can find the latest news, tools, resources, and government guidance on the coronavirus outbreak by visiting TMA’s COVID-19 Resource Center regularly.

Last Updated On

May 20, 2020

Originally Published On

May 20, 2020

Related Content

Coronavirus