McALLEN, RGV – The 10th Annual Border Health Conference hosted jointly by the Border Health Caucus and the Texas Medical Association has wrapped up in El Paso.
Brent Annear of the TMA says the one-day conference went well. “It was a packed room today- big success,” Annear said.
One of the panel discussions was titled Ensuring Access, Overcoming Obstacles to Care. Pictured from this panel discussion are Dr. Luis Benavides, MD, of Laredo, who moderated the panel, and U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, MD, of Flower Mound, Dr. Jose Manuel de la Rosa, MD, of El Paso, and Dr. Carlos Cardenas, MD, of McAllen.
Dr. Manuel L. Acosta, MD, chairs the Border Health Caucus. The El Paso physician penned this letter to the media in his hometown to encourage a good attendance:
Prime Opportunity: Attend Border Health Conference in El Paso
This August, El Paso will host a very special and important event: the 10th annual Border Health Conference. Typically, the conference is held in Washington, D.C.; El Paso is only the second U.S.-Mexico border city to host this significant gathering of physician, government, academic, and business leaders.
Good health and poor health affect us all: Financially, in our workforce, and in our economy. What happens in health care delivery affects business, taxes, and our government (and in turn, they influence health care delivery). Yet the health of people along the U.S.-Mexico border is a challenge. The border’s 32-county region tops the nation in high rates of residents who are obese or diabetic, live in poverty, or are uninsured.
The demand for health care is great. Yet the region has one of the lowest rates of physicians per capita to care for our locals and to promote healthy behaviors and disease prevention.
The goal of the conference is to make a difference, to assemble the people who influence health care delivery in our communities so they can develop solutions to the unique challenges that our doctors and patients face. We must ensure that access to care is a reality for all Texans, for all people in our cities, towns, and neighborhoods. If you care about the survival and growth of our community … and want to see it improve … you will enjoy this conference.
We’ll cover a variety of issues, including how to improve public health; how federal health reform, managed care, graduate medical education, and change in Medicare’s payment system all affect Texans’ ability to get a physician’s care; and how health care, government, and private stakeholders can collaborate to help physicians deliver good care to border patients.
A physician leadership organization of the Texas Medical Association, the Border Health Caucus hosts the Border Health Conference every year. Mark your calendar for Thursday, Aug. 6, at the El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center on The University of Texas at El Paso campus.
For more information, visit http://www.texmed.org/BorderHealthCaucus/.
