Big Picture

The Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas is an Austin based non-profit organization created to address health disparities in the African American community. The Alliance serves the Austin five county metropolitan areas. Their mission and vision are as follows:

Mission

The mission of the Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas is to empower African Americans living in the Central Texas counties of Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson to improve their health status through outreach, advocacy and education.

Vision

To reduce mortality, preventable illnesses and diseases that affect African Americans at higher rates than other racial/ethnic groups.

Program Description and Methods

Overview

The formation of the AAAHCT occurred following the Health Disparities among African Americans in Central Texas conference held by the Austin/Travis County Health Department in 2005. Individuals attending the conference, including key community leaders, were presented with data from 2000-2004 which revealed that African Americans ranked number one in ten of the fifteen leading causes of death. AAAHCT was formed to help address these disparities and reduce these staggering statistics.  AAAHCT strives to improve health outcomes and reduce the morbidity and mortality rates for African Americans, thus impacting the health status in the Central Texas region.

Community Work

The Alliance has partnered with organizations such as the American Diabetes Association and Huston-Tillotson’s Health Connection to provide health education in the community.  The Alliance has served as panelist at events such as the Central Texas African American Support Conference and the YWCA’S presentation of the film Unnatural Causes………..Is inequality making us sick?, in an effort  to educate and raise awareness about health disparities.  Alliance members addressed the Texas State Task Force on Health Disparities regarding its role in eliminating health disparities and supported the passage of HB (House Bill) 1396 which reassigned the Office of Elimination of Health Disparities to report directly to the Executive Commissioner of Health and Human Services.

Goals

AAAHCT’s goal for the beginning of 2010 is to recruit at least 200 members. Membership is open to anyone in Austin and surrounding areas that believe in the organization’s mission and is willing to lend their time and talents to accomplish that mission. There are no membership dues and no meeting attendance requirements.  AAAHCT would like you to be involved and allow them to call upon you when opportunities arise that match your area of interest.

Opportunities for Involvement

The Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas has immediate and upcoming opportunities for members to get involved:

Join a subcommittee – There are three subcommittees chaired by board members that are charged with making recommendations for Alliance activities in the areas of fundraising, program development, and advocacy. If planning is your forte and these are areas of interest, consider joining a subcommittee.

Liaison – In order to be an effective voice in the community on health-related issues, it is critical that the Alliance is aware of activities taking place, and decisions being made, by other entities that can impact health in our communities. There are many governmental bodies, health-focused organizations, faith-based institutions, service providers, etc., that the Alliance would like to plug into.  If this sounds like an area of interest, consider serving as a liaison.

5K Walk/Run – There will be various opportunities to support the 5K walk/run scheduled for November 2010. Members will be needed to serve on various planning committees as well as help out the day of the event.

Join the 78723 Community Health Network– Our goal is to engage at least 200 members in the health network that will focus on addressing health outcomes in the 78723 zip code in Travis County.

Other – If you have resources or skills that you would like to utilize in helping the Alliance achieve its mission, but don’t see a specific role identified above, please contact us.

Email: info@aaahct.org

Phone: (512) 619-4280

For more information on the Alliance for African American in Central Texas, please click here.

In midst of the Haiti Earthquake, basic needs and medical supplies are of the greatest need. The best form of aid is money. Why? Click here to find out.

The University of Texas will hold a solidarity rally on Thursday, January 21, 2010 from 11:30-1:30 pm on the West Mall to raise money for Haitian victims and to hold a moment of silence for the victims of the deadly earthquake.

If you would like to donate online, a list of medical organizations already providing relief in Haiti is below (from CNN).

Providing Medical Aid: 
• Direct Relief International 
• International Medical Corps 
• Medical Teams International 
• Doctors Without Borders 
• Operation USA 
• MAP International 
• World Health Organization 
• Americares 
• Project Medishare 
• Partners in Health 

To provide aid in other areas such as basic needs, shelter and food please click here for a list (from CNN) of relief organizations.

Contact Info/Website:  http://www.thewrighthouse.org/index.html ∙ (512) 467-0088.

Needs: Volunteers ∙ Donations

The Big Picture

The Wright House Wellness Center was founded in 1988 by PLWAs (Persons Living with AIDS) and several holistic/complementary health therapy practitioners who believed that many of the symptoms of chronic illnesses could be effectively treated with holistic/complementary health therapies. [Source: http://www.thewrighthouse.org/history.ht...]

 Vision
Everyone in our community affected by chronic illness will experience an improved quality of life.

 Mission
The Wright House Wellness Center offers care and compassion to Central Texans living with or at risk of HIV, AIDS and Hepatitis C and provides resources for support, education and empowerment.

                                                                       -The Wright House Wellness Center [Read more →]

Contact Info/Website:  www.communitycaretx.org/services.html. ∙ www.communitycaretx.org/contact_us.html. 

The Big Picture

CommUnityCare offers primary care, family practice, internal medicine, women’s services, dental care, behavioral health services and pediatric care to the underinsured and uninsured in the greater Austin area. CommUnityCare’s mission and vision are as follows:

Mission: We will work with the community as peers with open eyes and a responsive attitude to provide the right care, at the right time, at the right place.

Vision: Improve the health of the community by increasing access to the best care possible.

                                                                  -CommUnityCare [Read more →]

This holiday season give your time and your heart! Here are a few local health related volunteer opportunities to give back this holiday season.

The Care Communities

The Care Communities is a non-profit organization which provides practical and emotional support for individuals affected by AIDS and cancer. There are currently about 40 individuals on their waiting list due to a shortage of volunteers which make up Care Teams (4 – 7 volunteers), a group of individuals that provide support to sick individuals.

For more information please visit www.thecarecommunities.org

Mother’s Milk Bank

The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin is a non-profit organization whose mission is to accept, pasteurize, and dispense donor human milk by physician prescription primarily to premature and ill infants. We have a crucial need for volunteers Dec. 15-Jan. 15 when interns, work study students, and other UT volunteers we depend on are on winter break.

Positions

Join our Pour Team!

Work in teams of 3-4 with milk bank staff and volunteers to pour donated milk for pasteurization.  The defrosted milk is pooled, mixed, poured into containers, and pasteurized.  This job involves standing, lifting flasks full of milk and wearing cool  medical garb that makes you feel like you have a medical degree.

Milk Logger

Does tallying data make your heart sing? Like to count and add things? We need volunteers to log frozen donated milk into our data tracking system. Remember your (or a friend’s) nursing days by counting precious bags of frozen milk!

Weekdays: Tuesday and/or Thursday 9am-12pm; Monday and/or Wednesday 11am-2pm

Evenings and Weekends: Thursday or Friday 5-7 pm (or 6-8);  Saturday 9am-12 noon

Support Moms Who Donate Milk!

Work as part of the office team to interact with donor mothers and answer their questions, organize and maintain donor files, prepare routine correspondence, enter data, answer telephones, complete special projects, and other general office tasks. 

Monday – Thursday, 9am-5pm & Friday 9am-1pm.

MMB is closed Dec. 24, 25, 31st and January 1st.

Individuals and groups of up to 5 welcome! Interested? Visit: www.milkbank.org or contact sarah@milkbank.org

Department of Aging and Disability Services

Giving inspires and changes lives!

The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) provides opportunities for donations and volunteerism throughout the holiday season for individuals living in state supported living centers, as well as for older Texans through the local Area Agencies on Aging. For general information on DADS volunteer programs, visit www.volunteeratdads.org. For holiday season volunteer opportunities, contact DADS Volunteer and Community Engagement office at 1-800-889-8595 or contact your local Area Agency on Aging at 1-800-252-9240.

Make a difference in the life of another through volunteer service. Happy Holidays!

Get Involved with DADS Volunteer and Community Engagement Programs

DADS Silver Lining

A volunteer outreach program providing planned social visits to people living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and state supported living centers. Volunteer visits during the holiday season are especially meaningful, as many residents live far away from family or friends or may not have visitors. Visit www.silverliningatdads.org for more information.

DADS State Supported Living Centers

Each state supported living center (Abilene, Austin, Brenham, Corpus Christi, Denton, El Paso State Center, Lubbock, Lufkin, Mexia, Richmond, San Angelo, and San Antonio) has its own active volunteer program. There are many holiday volunteer opportunities to choose from. Contact the Community Relations Director on campus for details. Visit the website at www.dads.state.tx.us for more information.

Texas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

Volunteers interested in resident rights of older Texans serve as advocates and mediate concerns on behalf of residents in long term care. An ombudsman works with residents, families, and staff to improve the quality of life and care for people living in nursing and assisted living homes. Volunteers receive training and support. As advocates, ombudsmen are the eyes, ears, and voice for older Texans. Visit www.toughenoughtocare.org for more information.

DADS Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Field Offices

Program services and supports available through the field offices include home delivered meals, emergency response, attendant and nursing care, therapies, home modifications, and medical supplies. Volunteer opportunities are available in each regional office for positions that provide administrative support. Visit the website at www.dads.state.tx.us for more information.

Blood Center of Central Texas

The holidays are a critical time for blood products.  Blood donors are needed and volunteers are needed to help urge shoppers to donate blood! (Orientation will be provided)

Barton Creek Mall
1 – 5 pm 
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 31, 2009

Lakeline Mall
1-5 pm
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 31, 2009

Below are some additional opportunities from the UT School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus through the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living.

Contact Info/Website:  www.mpaustin.org. ∙ (512) 494-0953

Mission/Description:  Mission Possible is a faith based non-profit organization which provides a number of services, including healthcare, to the East Austin community.

Opportunities/Needs:   Donations ∙ Volunteers

The Big Picture

Mission Possible started in 1992 when the Pinson family reached out to the homeless in the East Austin area by hosting Church Under the Bridge. The first meeting was 2 people, the second was 20 and the organization has been growing ever since.

Mission Possible is a non-profit organization in East Austin with a mission to “connect the body of Christ with Austin’s urban communities to foster Christ-life transformation through life-on-life relationships.”

                                                                                                                     -Mission Possible

The Mission Possible Clinic “seeks to CONNECT local health care professionals to SERVE individuals in the Central East Austin area and EMPOWER those individuals with the tools needed to reach their fullest potential.”

                                                                                                                    - Mission Possible Clinic

Program Description

Mission Possible has several programs which fall under their Street Ministry, Project Intercept and the Community Outreach Program. The Medical Clinic, located on 12^th and Chicon, falls under the Community Outreach component of Mission Possible.

The medical clinic provides health care for the homeless, uninsured and under-insured in the East Austin area, specifically around the 78702 zip code. Medical professionals volunteer their time, during the day or the evening, to provide medical services.  In addition, the B.A.G.S. Ministry (Bringing Assistance through Grace and Service) delivers groceries to those that are unable to or have difficulty with mobility. Through this program doctors and healthcare professionals can make house visits.

Overview of Medical Services

• The Medical Clinic seeks to provide urgent and primary care to the under and uninsured that live in or around the 78702 zip code in East Austin.
• The physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, optometrists, and podiatrists volunteer their time at no charge to the patient.
• Limited laboratory and x-ray testing is provided at no expense through the donations of Brackenridge Hospital and Austin Radiology Associates
• Free athletic screenings for student athletes in the East Austin area are available in the summer

The Mission Possible Clinic is open on Tuesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. and Friday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. when volunteers are available. The Tuesday and Friday clinics are by appointment only.  The clinic will seek to expand its services in the future to include walk in clinics, home visits, mobile medical clinics, and dental care.   Mission Possible realizes that one of the biggest barriers to healthcare is the ability to find free and/or affordable services and also finding transportation and time. Therefore, they do their best to bring doctors to the patients in a convenient manner.

UT Partnerships

Students from the UT Nursing Program have participated in blood pressure and wellness programs as well as canvassing programs to pass out bilingual flyers in the community outlining the medical services available.  In addition, fourth year medical students from UTMB volunteer their time during regular clinic hours.

Highlights

There are several highlights at Mission Possible from their B.A.G.S. program which does assessments/repairs on homes and provides groceries to their after school mentoring programs and summer camps for at risk children.

The volunteers that give their time to Mission Possible are also truly amazing and are the heart behind the entire operation. When interviewing Mission Possible I learned about a gentleman from West Austin, named John, that took time out to help a homeless alcohol dependent gentleman, Dan. Dan receives a monthly check and now that the John and Dan are friends, the individual in recovery communicates closely with his “mentor,” John, to insure that his money is being used for the necessities of life and not for alcohol.

There are countless stories like this from the work done at Mission Possible and many more will be created thanks to their great work.

Phone: (512) 494-0953

For more information on The Cancer Connection, please click here or go to www.mpaustin.org.

Contact: Casa Marianella, (512)385-5571, info@casamarianella.org.

Website: http://www.casamarianella.org.

The Big Picture

Casa Marianella was founded 24 years ago with the original mission of serving refugees from Central America. The house is named after Marianella Garcia Villas, a human rights lawyer in El Salvador who was slain by death squads in 1983. Casa Marianella expanded its mission to serving the entire immigrant community in Austin in the late 1980′s with the decline of the wars in Central America. Casa Marianella further expanded its resources with the Posada Esperanza house for families. The ultimate goal of the organization is to create a community of immigrants and refugees by providing hospitality and promoting self-sufficiency.

Watch a tour of the Casa Marianella house below:
Download

Click read more to learn about programs, services, and needs. Click here to go straight to volunteer opportunities. [Read more →]

The Big Picture           

The UT Nursing Student’s Association reaches out to nursing students and encourages them to get involved. In addition to volunteer and extracurricular involvement, the UTNSA is a great place for nursing students to connect. Not only do students from the School of Nursing connect but students from other areas of study also interact with the UTNSA.

The main event that the Nursing Student Association hosts each year is Longhorn School Bus. Students from Zavala Elementary School spend a day on UT’s campus and learn about exercise, hygiene, nutrition and much more through hands-on and active exercises including but not limited to preparation of fun and healthy snacks such as ants on a log (raisins and peanut butter on celery), organ tosses and exercises with glitter which teach students how easily the spread of germs occurs.

The UT Nursing Student’s Association has received various accolades from Longhorn School Bus such as a national award and news coverage on Fox 7.

Longhorn School Bus 

Who: 5^th and 6^th graders from Zavala Elementary

When: January 29, 2010. 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Where: Nursing School, University of Texas at Austin

Contact: Christina Stylianou, Breakthrough to Nursing Coordinator, chair of Longhorn School Bus

E-mail: cstylianou@mail.utexas.edu

Website: http://www.utexas.edu/nursing/html/alumn…

Activities include:

• 1. Upon arrival, students will be broken up into 4 groups and rotate to 4 different stations.
• 2. 25 minutes are spent at each of these stations which cover:
• - Cough/Healthy Hand Washing Hygiene
• - Exercise
• - Healthy Eating
• - First Aid/Nursing Knowledge
• 3. At 12:00 noon, lunch is either outside on the terrace or at the park near the nursing school.
• 4. Children are given a tour of the Nursing School’s Skills Lab where a presentation is given by either a current nurse or nursing student about possible paths to a nursing career and various opportunities.

Website: (local) http://www.dellchildrens.net/services_and_programs/safety_and_injury_prevention/safe_kids_austin. ∙ (national) http://www.safekids.org.

Contact: Tareka Wheeler, Injury Prevention Coordinator. E-mail: twheeler@seton.org.

The Big Picture

Safe Kids Austin is one of more than 600 grassroots coalitions that focus on injury prevention – specifically on preventing accidents of children ages 14 and under. Safe Kids exists globally in countries like Brazil, South Africa, Uganda, and Puerto Rico. Locally, Safe Kids’ lead agency and primary source of funding is Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas whom also provides technical support and space. They are comprised of over 30 local and state organizations aiming at developing education programs and events for children and their families on injury prevention as well as spreading awareness in the community through presentations and safety fairs.

 Ultimate Goal

The number one cause of death after a child’s first birthday is found to be a result of accidents such as those in vehicle or water incidents. Safe Kids Austin works to reduce the number of incidents and accidents of deaths in children.

 Their 5 target safety initiatives include:

1) child-passenger

2) pedestrian

3) water

4) bicycle

5) safe-sleep

Annual Goals, Needs, and Opportunities

1) Create and develop a speakers’ bureau whose information on injury prevention methods can be accessed online

2) Develop Champions community program – engage neighborhood associations and obtain data from them in order to know who to target for injury prevention program

3)  Implement their city-wide booster seat plan – education, awareness, and prevention devices will be distributed to community families

4)  Seeking ways to grant funding for additional staff members to manage a growing coalition with a rapidly increasing number of initiatives

5) Continue to build and produce strong leaders through their internship opportunities in areas such as project management and marketing

Program Description

Tareka Wheeler is the program coordinator of Safe Kids Austin. The elections for Board of Directors are staggered. There is a president, vice president, and secretary. There is a director of advocacy and research, recruitment and retention, communication and marketing, as well as education. Through this group of leaders, a 3-year strategic plan is developed every 3 years to forecast their goals. At the coalition level, members come together on a monthly basis. Individual task forces are designated to address the 5 target safety initiatives.

Assessing Success!

Safe Kids Austin utilizes various assessment methods some of which are: 

• Process evaluation- Safe Kids Austin makes sure they are creating effective processes to educate the Austin community
• Number of families served- There are several services that Safe Kids Austin provides to the community such as supplying families in need with child safety seats.
• Observational surveys- There are individuals that go out into the community to observe the natural behaviors of families during the times when the most children are harmed. For example, during a walk or a bike ride to or from school. Safe Kids works to make sure they are serving the community effectively, therefore, the program observes natural behaviors to assess the behaviors

Statistics 

• Accidental injury is the leading cause of death for U.S. children from one to 14 years old. In 2002, 5,305 children died from accidental injuries.

• The leading causes of death from accidental injury were motor vehicle occupant injury, airway obstruction, drowning, pedestrian injury and burns. 

• In 2002, injuries to children ages 14 and under resulted in 233,000 hospitalizations, more than 2.3 million visits to hospital outpatient departments and 17 million visits to physician’s offices.

• Injuries are the second leading cause of hospitalization and the leading cause of emergency room visits among children under 14. 

• The annual cost of child injury deaths in United States is an estimated $34.5 billion (U.S. Dollars).

[Source: http://www.safekids.org/members/unitedSt...]

Highlights

Every year Safe Kids Austin hosts Camp Safe Kids in which children are taught about various safety issues in fun and engaging ways. Through this camp Safe Kids Austin found a research opportunity and is now able to survey hundreds of children and parents and study injury prevention as a science in order to better serve the Austin community.

Contact Info/Website: Dr. Mary Steinhardt ∙ msteinhardt@mail.utexas.edu ∙ (512) 232 3535.

Mission/Description:  Dr. Steinhardt has designed interventions for African Americans in the East Austin area in order to promote healthy lifestyle decisions and improve their conditions.

Background

“Dr. Mary Steinhardt is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin, and Fellow in the Lee Hage Jamail Regents Chair in Education. She currently teaches a freshman leadership seminar, evaluation and research design, mind/body health, and theories of health behavior. She was the recipient of the First Annual Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award in the College of Education in 2002, the Texas Excellence Teaching Award given by the Texas Exes Student Association in 2003, and selected to the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at The University of Texas in 2004. Dr. Steinhardt received the Robert Murff Excellence Award in 2007 for her outstanding support of career services.” [Source: http://www.utexas.edu/education/resilien...]

Click here for more information about Dr. Steinhardt.

Research

Background

Dr. Steinhardt uses resilience interventions to help African Americans in East Austin more effectively manage type 2 diabetes. Her work focuses on managing stress more effectively with the hope that better management will help participants make healthier lifestyle choices.

Study

The study has been running for 2 years at Olivet Baptist Church. Dr. Steinhardt completed 2 pilot interventions which consisted of 4 weekly class sessions devoted to education and self-management and 8 biweekly support group meetings. 12 individuals, 6 men and 6 women, completed the program.

Methods

The Diabetes Coaching Program (DCP) consists of both psychological and physiological measures. The psychosocial measurements are resilience, coping strategies, diabetes empowerment, perceived stress, depressive symptoms and diabetes self-management. The physiological measures taken are BMI, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c[1], lipidemia and blood pressure. Measurements for each of these variables were taken before the study and 6 months after entry into the study.

In addition, there is a spiritual component to this study. In support groups the study participants check-in and discuss how they feel, what they need, etc. The groups eat breakfast together, take a walk together, pray and then adjourn. Support groups are important because people experiencing the difficulties of diabetes respond better when someone from their own community can speak about their experience and guide others, almost like a mentor program. The individuals from the first intervention were mentors to the second intervention’s participants.

Results

The tests indicated significant improvements in the following variables:

• Diabetes empowerment
• Diabetes self-management
• BMI
• HbA1c
• Total cholesterol
• Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol
• Blood pressure

The test indicated medium to large effects in the following variables: (Changes were not statistically significant.)

• Resilience
• Perceived stress
• Fasting blood glucose
• High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

Overall the study was successful. The participants, as a result, are managing type 2 diabetes more effectively. The social support helps the group the most in terms of individuals identifying their own habits, fears and enablers and really taking more responsibility for their condition. The spiritual component, according to Dr. Steinhardt, changes participants thought processes, gives them power and allows them to connect with other people.

Partners

Dr. Mary Steinhardt works with individuals at Olivet Baptist Church in East Austin for her resilience program. She also works with the Family Wellness Center’s Dr. DuBois and Dr. Doggett.

Highlights

Many of the individuals in the support groups have come out of their shells and empowered others by their efforts and their honesty. Some examples of these individuals and the moments that they really impacted the lives of others in their group are below.

• One of the participants, a security guard blind in one eye, drinks a lot of Coke. Another group member suggested switching to diet Coke and they realized that their blood sugar decreased significantly. They then became a support system for each other.
• One of the group members mentioned above decided to become more active and went to Curves, a fitness club for women. Her sister was also in the group and she inspired both her sister and the group to become more active because she lost weight and improved her health.
• There was a nurse in one of the support groups that happened to be afraid to prick her finger. She had the courage to share this with the group. This was empowering both to her and to the group.
• One gentleman told a story when the nurse told her story about the fear she had when pricking her finger at a dinner that Dr. Steinhardt treated the group to at the UT Club. The gentleman voiced that he used to think pricking your finger was the big event, but he now knows that living is the main event. The group then made wrist bands with the saying, “stick with it FOR LIFE.”
• Visit this link to learn more about one of Dr. Steinhardt’s study participants, Richard Holmes. https://wmail.austin.utexas.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=d42b0a596fc04f83ac4ce678d9a1ad58&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.utexas.edu%2fknow%2f2009%2f12%2f17%2fliving-with-diabetes%2f.

Future

Dr. Steinhardt’s long term goal is to develop a participant manual and facilitator guide so community members, who she finds one of the most impactful components of her program, can teach and empower support groups. 

For more information on Dr. Mary Steinhardt please click here or search for her at www.utexas.edu.