In November 1997, Mark Hormann, M.D., an assistant professor in pediatrics, became medical director. He oversees the health care services as well as supervising the principal clinician, a nurse practitioner, and the staff. With a general pediatrician in charge now, the clinic will be developed as a rotation site for UT-H medical students and residents. Risser remains active with the project as a board member and as chair of its fund-raising subcommittee. In the spring of 1997, the Rusk School Health Promotion Project officially became a non-profit organization in order to be able to raise money more effectively.
Grants now fund several major initiatives.
A grant from the Children's Trust Fund of Texas supports educating the Rusk community about Shaken Baby Syndrome. The grant provides for a community campaign to decrease incidents of Shaken Baby Syndrome by increasing knowledge of the dangers of shaking a baby and by improving child-care skills in the community. Through a grant from Episcopal Health Charities, the Rusk project has successfully developed a health education curriculum for the children and families it serves. The curriculum is a collaborative effort of the University of Houston, the Greater Houston Area Health Education Center and the UT-H School of Public Health. Implementation of the curriculum will begin in the fall of 1998 with the help of Maria Hernandez, Ph.D., assistant professor in behavioral sciences at the School of Public Health.