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April E-News |
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Included in this edition:
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Texas PSR Presents: How to Prepare for the Unexpected: Disaster Preparation for Healthcare Professionals |
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Monday, April 29, 2024, 7pm CT
Free CME Credit Available
Join us for an insightful webinar led by Douglas Havron, RN, titled "How to Prepare for the Unexpected: Disaster Preparation for Healthcare Professionals." Throughout this session, attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the State’s Emergency Support Function 8: Public Health and Medical Services. This will enable them to identify crucial patterns and procedures in an emergency.
Douglas will delve into personal and professional preparedness activities, elucidating the local, regional, state, and federal response structures. By the end of the webinar, participants will be equipped to recall their personal preparedness needs, grasp the health and medical response structure in Texas, and discern the 24/7 emergency medical contact information for each Texas region. This session promises invaluable insights for healthcare professionals seeking to enhance their readiness and efficacy in times of crisis.
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This webinar series will be held monthly through June. Next month's webinar is: Air Pollution and Human Health: A Texan Volunteer as the Case Study. May 27, 7pm CT. Speaker: Poune Saberi, MD, MPH Sign up here! |
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Texas PSR Welcomes New Student Board Members |
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In March, Texas PSR welcomed two new student board members, Alan Nagarajan and Lauren O'Neal. Read on to learn more about their background and current work.
Alan Nagarajan is a first-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2023 with High Honors in his B.S. Biomedical Engineering degree and is interested in pursuing a career in global surgery. During college, he worked to increase access to fresh produce in local food deserts in East Austin, led student teams to develop novel medical technologies for implementation in low-resource global environment, and researched into high-throughput imaging of translational animal models. At Baylor, he has continued developing novel medical technologies for use in surgical instrument tracking and prevention of RFOs; his primary guided research looking at the effects of social determinants of health on pediatric patient care accessibility. He is interested in advocating for reforming the structure of our cities – where equitable development of public transport, increased housing density, and walkable/bikeable neighborhoods as alternatives to the status quo of car-dominated urban spaces could lessen impacts of polluting private transport on the climate, increase community access to healthcare and other basics of living, and decrease excess mortality from preventable sources. Outside of school, he enjoys playing guitar with friends and reading history, literature, and current events.
Lauren O'Neal is a third-year medical student at UT Austin Dell Medical School focused on health equity and the environment. She completed a B.S. in Biology with minors in Public Health and Political Science at UT Dallas, during which she studied the impact of national parks in different countries on modern environmental efforts. She then returned to her hometown of Austin to serve in AmeriCorps providing medical case management to people experiencing homelessness, a community often first and most heavily impacted by environmental hazards. After this, she completed an MPH in Global Health & Environment at UC Berkeley where she worked for California’s EPA researching the impacts of cap-and-trade policies on disadvantaged communities. She also helped instruct an undergraduate course on the intersection of public health and the environment and conducted research on antimicrobial resistance in non-healthcare settings. Later, she worked for Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, supporting COVID-19 outbreak investigations and occupational safety in educational settings. At Dell Medical School, she is involved in leadership of the Environmental Health Interest Group, and remains interested in environmental justice, One Health, and the incorporation of social determinants of health into clinical care. In her free time, she enjoys growing, eating, and admiring plants, and traveling. |
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Become a Texas Volunteer Voter Registrar: Experiences from Texas PSR President |
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Looking for nonpartisan ways to get involved in the 2024 elections? PSR Texas President Adelita Cantu shares her recent experience of becoming a deputy registrar, and how you can become one to!
"We all know how important this upcoming national and state election is for our country and more specifically for PSR. I have become a deputy voter registrar which allows me to register people in Bexar County, TX to vote. To do this, I searched the Bexar County Deputy Registrar Training page. There are three options available in Bexar County: to have virtual training by Zoom, to do the training self paced online, and a face-to-face training. I chose the online and this required me to read the state-wide deputy registrar handbook on my own, then go to the office to take the exam in person. The exam is a multiple choice exam and you must score a 90. If you do not get a 90 the first time, you can repeat the exam within two days. When you pass, you will be sworn in and given a folder with voter registration cards."
"When you register someone to vote, the card(s) must be returned to the office within 5 days of the date on the card. The ability to assist people in registering to vote has given me a sense of empowerment, that I can indeed take action to accomplish goals, in this case, the goals of Texas PSR. I would highly recommend this training."
Residents of Travis, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Lee or Williamson Counties can participate in asynchronous training by visiting the Travis County webpage. Residents of Harris County may register for a zoom training here. Residents of Dallas County can sign up to take the exam here. For all other counties, please visit the Secretary of State's website here. |
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NEW Research: “I Thought It Was Just About Heat”: Using the Community as Partner Model to Support Climate Change Education |
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"I Thought It Was Just About Heat: Using the Community as Partner Model to Support Climate Change Education", newly published by Texas PSR President, Professor Adelita Cantu, discusses the importance of incorporating the Community as Partner (CAP) model into nursing education to enhance understanding and action on climate change.
The article emphasizes the role of nurses as advocates for environmental health and underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement in addressing climate-related challenges. By utilizing the CAP model, nursing educators can empower students to recognize the interconnectedness between environmental factors and health outcomes, fostering a holistic approach to patient care and public health. |
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A Call-to-Action: Health Professionals Sign-on to Protect Neighborhoods from Toxic Oil Drilling |
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Attention all Texas health professionals! Our PSR sister-chapters in California are reaching out to PSR Chapters across the nation for support!
They aim to enlist over 1000 health professionals who are willing to endorse a statement emphasizing the health risks associated with oil drilling in close proximity to residential areas, schools, and medical facilities. Environmental justice advocates, supported by health professionals and others, in California have successfully collaborated with their legislature and Governor to enact a law establishing health protection setback zones, shielding communities from the highest levels of harmful emissions.
However, oil companies have deployed paid signature gatherers to qualify a ballot initiative aimed at overturning this crucial law. This nationwide appeal for health professionals to acknowledge the hazards of oil drilling not only demonstrates solidarity on a national scale but also aids in thwarting the fossil fuel industry's endeavors in a state where one would typically expect stronger protections for public health and the environment. Let's unite in this effort! The national health professional letter for endorsement can be found here. |
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Event: The Global Nuclear Threat and Nuclear Landscapes in the United States |
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Climate Change and Human Health Echo: Global Nuclear and Environmental Threats Critical to Climate Change and Human Health
Given the decades-long global threats of nuclear weapons and power, environmental health exposures from chemical solvents and superfund sites, and resulting environmental injustice, these bi-weekly sessions will be a primer for health professionals, public health officers, first responders, and community-based educators interested in learning from nationally and internationally known experts. See below for details. Please note that you may register for as many as you'd like all at once at the registration link.
Superfund Sites and Environmental Exposures April 17, 1-2PM CT. Speaker: Michelle Hunter, MS from the NM Office of Engineers, New Mexico Department of Health
Identifying the Source of Chemical Solvents and Their Health-Related Impacts May 1, 1-2PM CT. Speaker: Michelle Hunter, MS from the NM Office of Engineers, New Mexico Department of Health |
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Are you interested in learning more, or getting involved in local actions to prevent the growing threat that nuclear weapons pose to our health and environment? Let us know of your interest and we'll be in touch! Fill out this quick form or email our Executive Director at Director@TexasPSR.org. |
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Give to Texas PSR |
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We do so much with so little, imagine what we could do |
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To mail your contribution to us, please send a check to our new mailing address: Texas PSR, 3571 Far West Blvd. #3428 Austin, TX 78731 As a registered non-profit under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. |
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