STITCH Brings Health Care Outreach to Indian Hills

MERCEDES, TEXAS – JULY 15, 2015 – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine and its partners have begun stitching together a larger partnership with the community to provide health care for those who lack the resources to seek medical attention.

Medical residents from the UTRGV School of Medicine — which is undergoing accreditation and is slated to open in Fall 2016 — joined the Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Department on Saturday, July 11, to provide health screenings, immunizations and other basic health care for the residents of Indian Hills, a colonia just outside of Mercedes.

The visit was part of the School of Medicine’s South Texas Interprofessional Collaborative for Health Care (STITCH), which includes collaborators such as the county’s health department, hospitals, nonprofit groups, promotoras and other educational institutions.

“The STITCH team we have assembled is amazing,” said Dr. Francisco Fernandez, founding dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine. “They make things happen and their commitment to total health is second to none. They have become the heart of our colonia-integrated care VIDAS efforts and are leading the way to make our community’s health a priority for the region.”

Throughout the sunny morning, families from the more than 300-household neighborhood came to La Iglesia de los Hechos (the Church of the Worker) to take advantage of the health care and educational opportunities being offered. Medical residents checked blood pressure, weight and height, and screened vision and hearing inside the church. Health care staff from the county administered immunizations, and representatives from the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley provided information on nutrition. Students in social work and other programs at UTRGV were on hand to provide assistance.

Dr. John Ronnau, senior associate dean for interprofessional education at UTRGV’s School of Medicine, said the STITCH team was invited by La Iglesia de los Hechos, which has spearheaded numerous outreach programs for its residents.

The STITCH team expects to visit the Indian Hills colonia about once a week to provide health care and education.

“This is only the beginning,” he said. “Our goal is to create programs across the Valley, all the way from Brownsville to Rio Grande City and beyond. We will work. We will get to know the community and determine with them to see what the needs are, so we can help meet their needs.”

Juan Moreno, pastor of La Iglesia de los Hechos, said health care services and education are much needed in the community.

“Here in the Valley, we see a lot of people who don’t have the resources to go see the doctor and, more importantly, there’s no transportation,” he said. “By them (STITCH) coming into the community, it helps deal with that issue of transportation and allows them to take care of the community.”

Moreno is looking forward to expanding the partnership now being forged between the Indian Hills community, the School of Medicine, Hidalgo County and fellow collaborators.

“It’s a relationship that will grow stronger each day … Our most important focus is a healthy family, and if the family is healthy, we’re all healthy,” Moreno said.

Eddie Olivarez, chief administrative officer for Hidalgo County Health and Human Services, said the county looks forward to this collaboration with the School of Medicine and other STITCH partners.

“From an economic point of view, a healthier community will yield a better-educated community, and in return, a healthy educated community will yield a better workforce,” he said.
For more information on UTRGV, visit the website at www.utrgv.edu, like its Facebook page, or follow @utrgv on Twitter.