The local community leaders and researchers from UT-Houston School of Public Health, and satellite campuses in El Paso, Dallas and San Antonio, are working closely with local health agencies, health care providers, and public health officials in this assessment of health needs and health care resources. In the assessment, existing information about the health status of the valley will be examined, and new data will be collected, as needed, to evaluate areas such as health care, mental health, air and water quality, employment and housing. Health professionals and employers will also be interviewed to determine the size of the health workforce and training needs. This study is the first project for UT-Houston School of Public Health's newest satellite in Brownsville. The new facility on the UT-Brownsville campus is a division of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Regional Academic Health Center, scheduled for completion in fall 2001.
Statistics show there are shortages of some health professionals and health services in the valley.
All communities need to do a better job of identifying these needs and finding solutions. Our job is to facilitate this process for the community. This study allows us to establish relationships with local faculty and community leaders to ease public health problems in the border region. Dr. Palmer Beasley, dean of the UT-Houston School of Public Health, says the Brownsville campus is an extension of the school's satellite network that will provide education and essential support for the public health workforce in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. I envision a time when we have an entire population fully aware of the principles and values of public health.