With 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!

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 Waiver 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.

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.

The 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.

The 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.”

Long 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, 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.

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.

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!

Each year, the American Public Health Association (APHA) hosts an annual meeting to serve as the home for public health professionals to convene, learn, network and engage with peers. This year, the meeting will be held on November 15-19 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Several CCHD faculty and staff have contributed poster and oral presentations to the APHA and will be presenting at the annual meeting this fall. All poster and oral presentations with their respective contributing authors are listed below:

Posters:
Grimes County Physical Activity and Community Engagement (PACE) Project: Increasing Access to Physical Activity in Rural Populations
Billie Castle , Whitney Garney, MPH , Monica Wendel, Dr.P.H., M.A. , Angela Alaniz, BA, Monique Ingram, MPH, Vicky Jackson, Lara Meece

Exergame Options for Physical Activity: Geocaching for Exercise and Activity Research
Whitney Garney, MPH , Monica Wendel, Dr.P.H., M.A. , Billie Castle, George Cunningham, PhD, Monique Ingram, MPH, Angela Alaniz, BA

MOST: A partnership approach for expanding mental health care
Angela Alaniz, BA , Whitney Garney, MPH , Billie Castle , Monica Wendel, DrPH, MA, Timothy Elliott, PhD, Carly McCord, PhD

Walking to School and the Social Environment
Hyung Jin Kim, PhD, Chanam Lee, PhD, MLA , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , and Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD, CNS

Neighborhood safety factors associated with older adults’ health outcomes: A systematic literature review
Jaewoong Won, MS, Chanam Lee, PhD, MLA , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , and Samuel N. Forjuoh, DrPH, MD

Active Commuting to School: An Interplay of Child Self-efficacy, Social Influence, and Built Environment
Wenhua Lu, Elisa Lisako Jones-McKyer, Phd, MPH, Chanam Lee, PhD, MLA , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH

Fall-related Hospitalization Incidence and Related Injuries among Older Adults in Texas
Samuel Towne, PhD, MPH, CPH, Matthew Lee Smith, PhD, MPH, CHES , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH

Development and implementation of a culturally and linguistically-centered nutrition education program for promotora-researchers to foster community health education and outreach in Texas border colonias
Brenda Bustillos, MS, RD, LD and Joseph R. Sharkey, PhD MPH RD

Development of ICANFIT: A mobile device application to promote physical activity and access to health information among older cancer survivors
Yan Hong, PhD, Deborah Vollmer Dahlke, MPAff , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , Daniel Goldberg, PhD, Jessica Cargill, Debra Kellstedt, MPH, Jairus Pulczinski, Tracy Hammond, PhD, Edgar Hernandez

Rural Parenting Influences on Child Sedentary Behaviors
Myra Gabriel, MS, CHES, Corliss Oultey, PhD , E. Lisako McKyer, PhD, MPH

Roundtables:
To be or not to be: Flexible framework or standardized curriculum for training CHWs/promotores from diverse communities–Experiences from Texas
Julie Ann St. John, MA, MPH, DrPH, Beverly MacCarty, MA, and Katharine Nimmons, MSc, MPH

Relationship between CHW characteristics and residents’ knowledge in a CHW-led cancer education intervention: Project outcomes and strategies
Katharine Nimmons, MSc, MPH , Julie Ann St. John, MA, MPH, DrPH, Chris Beaudoin, PhD, Paula Saldana, CHW, CHWI and Dinorah Martinez, CHW, CHWI

Oral Presentations:
CHWs on fire but not burnt out
Julie Ann St. John, MA, MPH, DrPH , Katharine Nimmons, MSc, MPH

Dissemination and implementation of EnhanceFitness in YMCA-affiliated sites: The early adopter experience
Basia Belza, PhD, RN, FAAN, Laura Farren, BS, Grace Kline, PhD, RN, Marlana Kohn, MPH, Chirstina Miyawaki, MSW, MA, Miruna Petrescu-Prahova, PhD , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , Maureen Pike, BSN, RN, MPH

Use of mini-grants to disseminate evidence-based interventions for cancer prevention and control
Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , Debra Kellstedt, MPH, Michelle Carvalho, MPH, Daniela B. Friedman, MSc, PhD, James L. McCracken, MA, Maria E. Fernandez, PhD, Glenna Dawson, MPH, Michelle Kegler DrPH

Hands on strategies CHWs can use to prevent and reduce falls among older adults
Julie Ann St. John, MA, MPH, DrPH, Tiffany Shubert, PT, PHD , Marcia Gail Ory, PhD, MPH , Doris Howell, MPH , Cherie Rosemond, PT, PhD, GCS, Matthew Lee Smith, PhD, MPH, CHES, Chris Beaudoin, PhD, Stephanie Bomberger

Differences in proposed Safe Routes to School implementation by type of funding application
Alison Massie, MPH, Diane Dowdy, PhD, Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , Tiffni Menendez, MPH, Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD, CNS

Texas Grow, Eat, Grow (TGEG): A promising child obesity prevention effort
Omolola Adepoju, PhD, MPH , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , Judith Warren, PhD, Lijuanzi Li, Alexandra Evans, PhD

Texercise: A Multi-Component Lifestyle Enhancement Program for Older Texans
Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH , Matthew Lee Smith, PhD, MPH, CHES, Luohua Jiang, Doris Howell, MPH, Shuai Chen, MS, Alan Stevens, PhD

Community capacity dimensions influencing success of local initiatives: The importance of reflexivity
Monica L. Wendel, DrPH, Whitney Garney, MPH , Billie Castle , Angela Alaniz, BA, Monique Ingram, MPH, Kenneth McLeroy, PhD, James N. Burdine, DrPH

Using Community Health Workers to Increase Awareness about the Affordable Care Act in a Rural Community
Whitney Garney, MPH , Billie Castle, Katharine Nimmons, MSc, MPH, Alexandra Roach, BS, Angela Alaniz, BA, Monica Wendel, DrPH

Using Structural Equation Modeling to Explore Relationships between Access, Accessibility, and Health Status
Whitney Garney, MPH , Katharine Nimmons, MSc, MPH , Billie Castle, Kenneth R. McLeroy, PhD, Monica Wendel, DrPH, MA

Examining and predicting network relationships in a longitudinal study of a community health partnership
Scott Robinson, PhD, Heather Clark, MSPH , Kenneth R. McLeroy, PhD , James N. Burdine, DrPH

Active Commuting to School: An Interplay of Child Self-efficacy, Social Influence, and Built Environment
Wenhua Lu , Elisa Lisako Jones-McKyer, Ph.D., M.P.H. , Chanam Lee, PhD, MLA , Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH.

An Investigation of the Relationship Between School Take-home Assignments and Parents’ Screen Time rules for Children
Lenna Dawkins-Moultin, MS, Xuewei Chen, M.Ed., Andrea McDonald , Elisa Lisako Jones-McKyer, Ph.D., M.P.H.

CCHD affiliated faculty member, Dr. Mark Benden, will be serving as the Keynote Speaker at the 2014 Occupational Ergonomics Symposium in Seattle, Washington on October 16th. The symposium is hosted by the Puget Sound Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and will feature ergonomics experts from all over the country. Dr. Benden’s keynote will discuss the positive and negative effects of recent advances in technology on health.

Ms. Whitney Garney, CCHD’s Research & Evaluation Associate, recently presented at the Brazos Valley United Way Education Series. Her presentation summarized the history and implementation of the Health Resource Centers throughout the Brazos Valley as well as the services they provide. Ms. Garney highlighted the availability of mental health counseling now offered via telemedicine at Health Resource Centers in Centerville, Madisonville, Navasota and Brenham. These services are provided by the Center’s Telehealth Counseling Clinic led by Dr. Tim Elliott and Dr. Carly McCord.

The month of January has been a rewarding month for Dr. Carly McCord, Clinical Director of the Telehealth Counseling Clinic. Earlier this month, Carly passed her oral exam and received her licensure as a Licensed Psychologist. In regards to passing her exam, Carly exclaimed, “ I couldn’t be happier to see my training as a Counseling Psychologist come full circle and I believe completing this step will ultimately strengthen the TCC and its reputation in the community.” The oral examination was the final component of several requirements by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists to become a licensed psychologist. Congratulations, Dr. McCord!

In other good news, Carly’s dissertation entitled “Trajectories of Happiness 5 Years Following Medical Discharge for Traumatic Disability” has been published in the January 2015 volume of the Journal of Happiness Studies. You may access the abstract of her dissertation here. Additionally, a symposium proposal by Carly and two of her students, Alejandra Sequeira and Jeremy Saenz, was accepted by the American Psychological Association’s and will be presented at the 2015 annual conference in Toronto, Canada.