National Community Health Worker Training Center Updates

New Director
nimmonsFormer Research Assistant, Ms. Katharine Nimmons has been named the Director of the National Community Health Worker Training Center (NCHWTC). With Dr. Julie St. John’s departure, Ms. Nimmons will assume the role of Director, overseeing all training center activities. Having worked with the training center for the past two years, Ms. Nimmons is well suited for this position and is extremely excited to further expand the training center’s national presence.

Upcoming Community Health Worker and Instructor Trainings
Currently, the National Community Health Worker Training Center is offering two Department of State Health Services-certified online courses. The Community Health Worker (CHW)/Promotora Instructor Certification course begins today, however, the course is self-paced and registration is still open. The CHW/Promotora course begins on September 15th and consists of 24 online classes. For more information please visit the training center website or the attached flyer.

The Program on Healthy Aging Celebrates Falls Prevention Awareness Month

The Center for Healthy Aging, a component within the National Council on Aging, the nation’s leading nonprofit service and advocacy organization representing older adults, will be observing the 7th annual Falls Prevention Awareness Day this month. This year’s theme, Strong Today, Falls Free® Tomorrow, seeks to raise awareness about how to prevent fall-related injuries among older adults.

falls2In an effort to spread awareness in the Bryan-College Station area, the Program on Healthy Aging, led by Dr. Marcia Ory, is coordinating a Falls Prevention Awareness Day event at the Southwood Community Center on Wednesday, September 24th from 9 am – 12 pm.

The St. Joseph Health System, College Station Medical Center, Home Depot, Area Agency on Aging, the Program on Healthy Aging, the College Station Fire Department and the College Station Parks & Recreation Department are among the sponsors attending and supporting the event. St. Joseph doctors will be providing free health screenings on fall risk assessment, mind and body evaluation, and blood pressure checks from 9-10 am. Presentations will also be given on the importance of physical activity, medication management, home safety and moving with confidence.

Everyone is welcome to attend the event and no registration is necessary. Please feel free to stop by and learn more about healthy aging!

The Program on Healthy Aging Becomes the new seat for the Texas Falls Prevention Coalition

logoThe Texas Falls Prevention Coalition was established in 2007 to “promote, implement and evaluate evidence-based programs and policies that help reduce risk factors of falls and injuries in older adults; provide education and resources to increase public awareness, mobilize communities and effect policy change for a falls free Texas.”

Coalition efforts were coordinated by the Texas Association of Area Agencies on Aging from 2007-2013, but were transferred to the Texas A&M Health Science Center Program on Healthy Aging earlier this year. Under the new leadership of Dr. Marcia Ory, the coalition has formed a new steering committee engaging several stakeholders including state aging and health agencies, health care partners and providers, and academia.

As the new seat for the coalition, the Program on Healthy Aging hopes to reinvigorate the coalition’s focus beyond A Matter of Balance and become a state-wide resource for healthy aging and falls prevention. A new website for the coalition has already been launched and houses several resources for seniors including access to training opportunities, fact sheets and other helpful websites.

CCHD Faculty and Staff to be Recognized at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting

garney175oryWith the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting coming up in November, selected awardees are receiving exciting news from the Association. CCHD faculty member, Dr. Marcia Ory and staff member, Ms. Whitney Garney, are among the few that have been selected for recognition at this year’s meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. Ory, CCHD Core Faculty member and Regents Professor in the Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences department, will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Aging and Public Health Section. Please visit the Texas A&M Health Science Center’s website for the full article on Dr. Ory’s award.

CCHD’s Research and Evaluation Associate, Ms. Whitney Garney, will be awarded with the best doctoral student research abstract by the Community Health Planning and Policy Development section of the American Public Health Association. Her abstract entitled “Using Community Health Workers to Increase Awareness about the Affordable Care Act in a Rural Community” highlighted the Affordable Healthcare Act awareness campaign in Madison County, which utilized Community Health Workers to assist residents in enrolling in health insurance.

Congratulations to both Dr. Ory and Ms. Garney!

Telehealth Counseling Clinic Staff Attend the American Psychological Association Annual Convention

Recently, Telehealth Counseling Clinic (TCC) Director, Dr. Tim Elliott and Clinical Director, Dr. Carly McCord, attended the American Psychological Annual Convention in Washington, DC. The convention provided networking opportunities and allowed the TCC to present within the symposium entitled “The Medicaid 1115 Waiveapar Program, Training Programs, and Addressing Rural Mental Health.”

Both Dr. Elliott and Dr. McCord presented within the Medicaid 1115 symposium of the convention. Dr. Elliott’s session, entitled “Why We Do What We Do: Training, Research and Disparities in Rural Mental Health,” provided an overview of the symposium, introducing the TCC and its innovative efforts in providing rural communities with mental health services.

Dr. McCord’s session was titled “Telepsychology: Academic-Community Partnerships,” and provided an in-depth discussion of the counseling clinic, its services, and how it meets the needs of the rural community through the use of long-distance technology.

Also in attendance to the convention was Kevin Tarlow, a TCC practicum counselor, who presented a poster entitled “Short-Term Benefits of Telecounseling in a Rural, Low-SES Texas Community.” The poster indicated that while TCC clients’ have lower mental health status scores than national samples of individuals diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, they experienced improvements in mental-health related quality of life after four sessions of telehealth counseling.

National Community Health Worker Training Center Provides Trainings for National Rural Health Association

Recently, the National Community Health Worker Training Center (NCHWTC) was contacted by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) to provide continuing education units to Community Health Workers in El Paso and San Diego. NCHWTC Instructors, Ms. Katharine Nimmons, Dr. Julie St. John and Ms. Paula Saldaña as well as affiliated Instructor, Ms. Denise Adame, facilitated the trainings over the past week, reaching over 150 individuals.

instructorsThe NRHA is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education and research, thus having services requested by the NRHA is a great opportunity for the NCHWTC to continue to expand its national presence. Ms. Nimmons notes that “the NRHA’s focus on border issues and health outcomes, in addition to their support for CHWs, makes them a great partner for our training center.”

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are trusted members of the community, with a close understanding of the culture, language and life experiences of the populations they serve. Additionally, CHWs are certified and trained to provide health education and information, acting as a liaison between communities and physicians or health service providers. Each of these characteristics support the NRHA’s mission, explaining why CHWs are a perfect fit for these trainings.

For both trainings in El Paso and San Diego, the NCHWTC provided continuing education units on the Practical tips for getting it DONE: Diabetes, Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise. Each five-hour training consisted of presentations, group work and individual activities to prepare each CHW to inform their communities on the prevention and treatment of obesity and related health issues.

donetrainingThe El Paso training was conducted by Ms. Katharine Nimmons, NCHWTC Research Associate and CHW Instructor, as well as Ms. Denise Adame, a former graduate assistant and NCHWTC affiliated instructor. This specific training was conducted in Spanish and reached 70 CHWs. Ms. Nimmons states that the instructors were “thrilled with the opportunity to deliver training to CHWs working in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Mexico this week”, and felt that the training was highly successful.

The San Diego training occurred in conjunction with the Border Health Symposium: Power of Collaboration, which is sponsored by the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission. Dr. Julie St. John, former NCHWTC Director, and Ms. Paula Saldaña, CHW Instructor, conducted the training in Spanish and reached 55 CHWs. Additionally, Dr. St. John was selected as a panelist at one of the symposium sections entitled, “The Role of Academia in Generating Knowledge About Border Health and Implementing Health Intervention Projects.”

CCHD Bids Farewell to Dr. Julie St. John

stjohnLong time CCHD team member, Dr. Julie St. John, has accepted an assistant professor position at the Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Public Health within Texas Tech University Health Sciences.

Dr. St. John began working with CCHD in 2006 as a Masters Research Assistant working on the Integrated Health Outreach Systems (IHOS) project. This project’s major goal was to create a proactive public health model that helped the isolated residents of colonias along the Texas border. It was this experience in working with colonias that led CCHD to hire her full time as the South Texas Regional Director, a position she held until 2013 when she was named Director of the National Community Health Worker Training Center (NCHWTC). Dr. St. John’s expertise in community health worker research, training and education greatly impacted the establishment and success of the national training center.

Although we are sad to see her go, we wish her the best of luck in her new position and look forward to future collaborations.

Dr. Marcia Ory and Team Attend the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging Conference

moryDr. Marcia Ory, CCHD faculty member and Director of the School of Public Health Program on Healthy Aging, recently attended the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) Conference in Dallas. Also in attendance from the Program were Ms. Doris Howell, Texas A&M Evidence-Based Programs (EBP) Director, and Dr. Samuel Towne, Postdoctoral Research Associate.

The n4a conference provides all Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) a place to convene, network, develop partnerships and share their agency’s experience in evidence-based programs implementation and sustainability.

Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) were established under the Older Americans Act in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and over in every local community. The n4a is the leading voice for these agencies and through advocacy, training and technical assistance, the association provides support for the national network of 618 AAAs.

In addition to conducting several research projects aimed at providing education, training, and delivering age-appropriate services, Dr. Ory’s Program on Healthy Aging also collaborates with our local Brazos Valley AAA and the Baylor Scott & White Community Research Center for Senior Health. Through these partnerships, the Program on Healthy Aging is able to assist in the development of new tools, such as the new online Toolkit on Evidence-Based Programming for Seniors and the Cost Savings Estimator Tool, both of which were showcased by Program staff at the n4a conference.

The new online toolkit is a comprehensive resource, containing materials that build the capacity of community organizations to promote senior health and well-being through evidence-based programming. For more information about the online toolkit, please visit the toolkit website. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) Health Cost Savings Estimator Tool is a new, effective resource available to the hundreds of AAA implementing CDSMP. The tool can be used to estimate cost savings associated with CDSMP program participation opposed to emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

Changes abound

The Health Science Center’s merger with Texas A&M University and the renaming of the School of Public Health are not the only changes that have taken place in the past few months. As of June 1st, the Center for Community Health Development has undergone its own transformation. The reorganization of the Center has led to new roles for familiar faces and celebrations for those who have taken advantage of new career opportunities.

The role of Director at CCHD has traditionally combined the responsibilities of administration and research. With the departure of Dr. Monica Wendel, former Center Director, who accepted a job at the University of Louisville, CCHD administration chose to separate the Director’s role into two functions with the Center now being led by an Administrative Director and a Research Director. Former Deputy Director, Ms. Angie Alaniz, will take on the responsibility of Administrative Director, and will provide strategic direction and supervision for all Center staff. In conjunction with the Health Promotion and Community Heath Sciences department, the Center is currently searching for a permanent research Director. In the interim, Dr. Kenneth McLeroy continues to serve as Principal Investigator (PI) of the Center and oversees all Center related research.

Additional restructuring has resulted in new responsibilities for remaining CCHD staff. Ms. Whitney Garney will be serving as the Center’s Research and Evaluation Associate. In this role she will manage the development of all research proposals, evaluation activities and data usage and compliance. In line with the Center’s new communication and outreach strategies, Ms. Catherine Catanach has been established as the Outreach Coordinator. The CCHD Spotlight is Ms. Catanach’s initial product of the Center’s new communication plan.

As we move forward, the Center continues to pursue innovative research opportunities that allow us to partner with communities and provide infrastructure support for academic research partners in an effort to improve population health.

CCHD Bids Farewell

CCHD Bids Farewell

In the past two months, many long standing faculty and staff have had the chance to take advantage of new career opportunities. Dr. Monica Wendel, previous Center Director, has accepted the position of Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and Associate Professor of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisville School of Public Health & Information Sciences. Dr. Wendel will be leading the school’s efforts in engaging with the local community by utilizing her experience with community-based participatory approaches and also expanding the practicum opportunities offered by the school. Additionally, Ms. Monique Ingram, former CCHD staff member, and Ms. Billie Castle, former CCHD graduate assistant, have joined Dr. Wendel’s team in Louisville, Kentucky.

Following the receipt of her doctorate degree, Dr. Heather Clark, previous Center Evaluator, has accepted the faculty position of Clinical Assistant Professor at the Texas A&M Health & Kinesiology Department where she will teach Community Health, Grant Writing and Introduction to the Discipline of Health Education. Additionally, former graduate student, Ms. Abby Moser, graduated from the School of Public Health and took a Health & Safety Representative position at Baker Hughes in Houston, Texas. Although it is always hard to see people leave, we know that farewells are not forever and look forward to potential collaborations!