El Paso Health Department

1. The mayor will read a Proclamation on April 7 officially designating April 6-12 as Public Health Week.
2. We will formulate and distribute to all media outlets the importance of the week and will emphasize, with an article or television clip, the activities of each of our programs of service during the course of the week. For example, we will emphasize the immunization program on Monday, the tuberculosis on Tuesday, etc.
3. In conjunction with the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) College of Health Sciences, we will be setting up informational booths at the university delineating our various programs. We will “man” the booths with student s so that they can assist in the delivery of the materials and information. Also, the UTEP School of Communications will assist in promoting this activity. 

The Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health

Prior to week:

*Both Mayors and Dean will sign proclamation March 26, 6 pm, at the beginning of the Bryan City Council Meeting.

*A national health exhibit will be on display in the lobby of the administration building March 27-April 1 (and at STC beginning April 28). Exhibit info: ASPH is partnering with the National Library of Medicine to offer a national traveling version of the exhibit “Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health.” The exhibit consists of six-foot-tall banners that highlight stories of individuals and communities making a difference in global health.

*Dean interview on KBTX & KWTX concerning Public Health Week
(will air at noon on April 7)

Throughout the entire week: Student Research Posters will be exhibited in the classroom building.

SATURDAY, April 4

8:30-10:30am 5K Fun Run to raise money for SRPH student scholarships
10:30-1:30pm Public health presentations for the general public
10:30-Catherine Hawes, Ph.D. and Charles Phillips Ph.D., M.P.H.-“Choosing a Nursing Home or Assisted Living Facility”
11:30-Jean Brender, Ph.D., R.N.-“Healthy Pregnancies-Healthy Babies: What you Can Do for Yourself or for your Daughter Now”
12:30-Mark Benden, Ph.D.-“Is Work a Pain in the Neck? Ergonomic Tips for Healthy Computing at Home, School and Work”

MONDAY, April 6

12:00pm Four 15 minute Disparities Grant Presentations (lunch will be served-RSVP required)
*Measurement of Household Food Availability among Limited Resource Families (Cheree Sisk-Joe Sharkey is advising)
*Home and Community Factors Affecting Children’s Physical Activity and Healthful Eating in the Summer (Sasha Fleary)
*Fathers’ Perceived Role as Health Liaisons for Childhood Obesity Prevention (Vanessa Byrd & Matthew Smith-working on Postdoc at SRPH)
*Multicultural Assessment Validity: A Test of Complexity, Impartiality, and Accuracy in the Case Conceptualization of African American Male College Students (Helene Cook & Laura Pruitt-Stephens)

TUESDAY, April 7

*Dean interview on KBTX concerning Public Health Week (arrive at KBTX by 5:30am)*Blood Drive coordinated by Social and Behavioral Student Organization and Commit for Life
*Information tables set up by two student groups in MSC

WEDNESDAY, April 6

*Our students will be making presentations in middle school classrooms in the Brazos Valley. They have made a video entitled “This is Public Health” and will be showing it and conducting associated activities in middle school classrooms in the Brazos Valley. 

Additionally, students enrolled in the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health Public Health Informatics course will learn about communicating public health issues by developing public service announcements (PSAs) for radio, newspapers, posters/flyers, and social networking tools, such as “youtube”. Each student selected a Healthy People 2010 topic, audience and media, and followed guidelines for writing an effective PSA. Selected PSAs will be released during National Public Health Week. For more information contact, Gale G. Hannigan, PhD, MLS, MPH, Professor, Texas A&M University Medical Sciences Library, Director, Informatics for Medical Education,Texas A&M College of Medicine, College Station, TX 77843-4462. Phone: 979-845-0514; FAX: 979-845-7493, Temple Office: 254-724-6807.E-mail: g-hannigan@tamu.edu

 Texas Obesity Research Center (TORC), University of Houston

The Texas Obesity Research Center (TORC) at the Univeristy of Houston will hold its inaugural conference on April 9-10, 2009 at the University of Houston, MD Anderson Library, Rockwell Pavillion.

The conference will serve as a platform for exchange of obesity research from cell biology, energy regulation and clinical management to epidemiology, public health, and built environmental policy.

Conference proceedings include panel discussions on public health and epidemiology, integrated biology and clinical treatments, a poster session and awards ceremony, a mock NIH study section review panel demonstration and keynote speaker, Dr. James Sallis.
For more information about the TORC conference and how to register, please visit www.hhp.uh.edu/obesity

National Public Health Week on the UT Southwestern Campus

The University of Texas School of Public Health at Dallas Student Association and the UT Southwestern Preventive Medicine Interest Group are collaborating to bring an entirely student planned National Public Health Week experience to the UT Southwestern campus.

Events

National Public Health Week at the Galveston County Health District

As part of the Galveston County Health District’s observance of National Public Health Week, three events will take place on April 8th.

• At Mall of the Mainland, 2 p.m. Hurricane Ike Public Health Heroes will be recognized. Cities and schools have been asked to nominate one person from their staff they consider a public health hero. This may be a employee who greatly assisted in keeping the municipal water system functioning during the event; or a school nurse who provided care to more than students but members of the community as well. There will also be a small community health fair in the mall commons. Free immunization will also be available. This is being coordinated with medical students from UTMB Galveston.
• GCHD Community Health Services will also be offering free immunization on Wednesday April 8th at the District’s three immunization clinics located in Dickinson, Galveston and Texas City.
• That same evening at Carbide Park, La Marque, in the Wayne Johnson Community Center the annual Gold Ribbon awards will be presents. These are given to food service establishments each year that show exemplary compliance with the Texas Food Establishment Rules. Award criteria includes: establishment must actually prepare food, maintain a record of satisfactory food temperatures, must have not confirmed food borne illness complaints, must have at least one certified food service manager employed, must have no significant number of demerits, must have a good cleaning and maintenance program, have evidence of staff discussions or training, and show special effort to comply with the rules by the use of food safety aids.  

The Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District

Invites you to their 3rd Annual Health Fair. This Health Fair was established as a kick-off to 

National Public Health Week, which is April 6th through the 12th this year. Some of the events include 

Blood Pressure and Glucose Checks, Cholesterol Screening, Body Fat Testing, Immunizations, 

HIV Testing, Animal/Pet Safety, and WIC education. Weather permitting, the outside will provide as 

much information and entertainment with VIN etching being provided by the WFPD, a bicycle rodeo,

the fire house, and various other agencies ready to show the public the services they provide. 

So come out to 1700 Third Street on April 4th from 9-1 p.m. and see what is sure to be fun for the 

whole family.

We are also going to City Council on that Tuesday and the Mayor is reading a proclamation.