June E-News

 

Included in this edition:

  • Texas PSR Presents! From Hurricanes to Heatwaves: How Climate Change Impacts Patients with Kidney Disease June 23
  • Announcing the New Texas PSR Environmental Health Committee (EHC)!
  • Call for Manuscripts! Frontiers in Public Health Research Topic: Integrating Climate Change into Health Education and Promotion

  • Thank You for Supporting our Interns!
  • Advocating for Federal Health Protections: Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

  • Register Today! 2025 Climate Communications Training
  • Teaching Patients Climate Resilience, from My Green Doctor
 

Texas PSR Presents! From Hurricanes to Heatwaves: How Climate Change Impacts Patients with Kidney Disease

Register Here

Join Texas PSR on Monday, June 23, 2025, from 7 - 8 PM for our CME webinar, "From Hurricanes to Heatwaves: How Climate Change Impacts Patients with Kidney Disease".

 

 

This free CME presentation will focus on how climate change poses a significant public health threat, with a particular focus on the vulnerabilities of patients with kidney disease.

 

Announcing the New Texas PSR Environmental Health Committee (EHC)!

Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility (TxPSR) is excited to launch our new Environmental Health Committee (EHC) — a dynamic group of health professionals committed to addressing the health impacts of environmental threats across Texas.

 

Why This Committee?

Environmental hazards — from air and water pollution to extreme heat, toxic exposures, and fossil fuel dependence — are causing significant health harms across Texas. As medical and health professionals, we have a unique and powerful voice to advocate for science-based, health-focused solutions. With the formation of the EHC, we’re creating a dedicated space to coordinate our efforts, deepen our impact, and protect the health of all Texans.

 

Interested in joining? Fill out this quick form.

 

What Will the EHC Do?

The EHC will bring together health professionals who want to:

  • Identify and act on key environmental health threats in Texas, including air quality, climate change, fossil fuels, water safety, and toxic chemicals.

  • Support TxPSR’s advocacy efforts with rapid response letters, testimony, and media outreach.

  • Engage and mentor students and early-career professionals through committee participation and internships.

  • Build community and share resources with others working at the intersection of health and the environment.

How Will It Work?

  • The EHC will meet every month via Zoom, led by volunteer chairs with staff and intern support.

  • Members will be added to a dedicated email listserv for ongoing updates, resource-sharing, and opportunities to engage.

  • Interns will help manage logistics like Zoom, invites, and follow-ups so the committee can focus on impact.

Join Us! We are currently seeking health professionals across disciplines — physicians, nurses, public health experts, and others — to join the EHC and help shape its priorities and actions.

 

Interested in joining or learning more?
Fill out this form — we’d love to hear from you!

Together, we can use our voices, knowledge, and advocacy to protect and promote health in every corner of Texas.

 

Call for Manuscripts!

Frontiers in Public Health Research Topic: Integrating Climate Change into Health Education and Promotion

Texas PSR invites you to contribute to the upcoming Frontiers in Public Health special edition: Integrating Climate Change into Health Education and Promotion. This edition will spotlight innovative research, practices, and class and community-based educational approaches addressing the intersection of climate change and public health. We encourage submissions that explore curriculum development, community engagement, policy advocacy, and interprofessional training. 

 

The deadline for submission of an abstract/summary is September 4, 2025. The full manuscript deadline is February 5, 2026.

 

For more information or to submit your manuscript, please click here. 

 

Please contact board members, Adelita Cantu (CantuA2@uthscsa.edu), Anusha Govind (anusha.govind@texaspsr.org), or Brett Perkison (William.B.Perkison@uth.tmc.edu) if you have any specific questions. 

 

Thank You for Supporting our Interns!

To everyone who donated or shared our future leaders' fundraising campaign, THANK YOU!  With your support, we raised $1,300 to support our current and future interns.

At Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility, our interns bring new energy, bold ideas, and fresh perspectives. In return, we offer mentorship, meaningful experience, and a seat at the table — because we believe in developing future leaders who care deeply about health, justice, and the environment.

 

Last month we shared many examples of the work our interns have done this year. We wanted to highlight Ria Arambandi (UT Austin) who worked with Program Director Becky Bernhardt on this year’s Dell Medical School Elective. The Elective drew seven students who participated in 12 lectures.

 

If you'd still like to make a donation to this fund, click here!

 

Advocating for Federal Health Protections:

Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

Texas PSR, along with National PSR and Pennsylvania PSR spoke last month with the Office of Management and Budget to provide comments on the importance of the EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics standards (MATS) that are on track to be rolled back.
 
Texas PSR's Programs Director, Becky Bernhardt, presented the following state specific information to the OMB:

 

Texas has 13 coal fired power plants; 12 of them are in rural parts of the state. However, their impact is still incredibly deadly:

  • The Martin Lake Plant, in Rusk County, TX, kills an estimated 154 people annually. 117,630 people live within 20 miles of the plant. The plant contributes to deaths in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Martin Lake has a long history of air quality violations and both Rusk and neighboring Panola County have been out of compliance with EPA air quality standards going back to 2017.
  • The WA Parish Plant, in Fort Bend County (Houston suburb) kills an estimated 109 people annually. 1,741,195 people live within 20 miles of the Parrish Plant. The plant also contributes to deaths in Louisiana.

Rural Texans and Texans in mid-sized cities (under 300,000) feel alienated from Texas urban centers and power centers on the East and West coasts. Over 25 percent of Texas counties don’t have a hospital and 72 percent of Texas counties (182 out of 254, including all rural counties) are designated “medically underserved areas,” according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Rusk County (where Martin Lake Plant is located) and three of Rusk’s neighboring counties are medically underserved. In some areas of the state people travel over 75 miles to get to the hospital.

 

Register Today! 2025 Climate Communications Training

Are you interested in expanding your climate change and health communications skills to create an impact in your community?

 

This six-part training series is hosted by our partners at the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. During this workshop, they will help build foundational communications skills to raise public awareness of the health threat posed by climate change and catalyze action that creates a just, sustainable, and healthy world for generations to come. The first class starts on June 17. Learn more and register here.

 

Teaching Patients Climate Resilience, from My Green Doctor

New research shows that healthcare professionals have a unique opportunity to teach their patients about individual and community climate resilience. My Green Doctor’s latest newsletter explores the benefits of waiting room teaching resources for patients, how your practice can take the Green Practice Pledge, and why healthcare professionals are trusted messengers about climate resilience: Patient Waiting Room Teaching Resources.

My Green Doctor is a free money-saving membership benefit provided through Physicians for Social Responsibility. Practice managers, doctors, and nurses use the “Meeting-by-Meeting Guide” to learn how to adopt environmental sustainability, save resources, address the health threats of climate change, and help create healthier communities.

 

The MGD team is ready to accelerate your environmental sustainability goals—ask them how: member.services@mygreendoctor.org. They’ll explain how adding just five minutes of My Green Doctor to each regular clinic or practice staff meeting will add up to big savings. They welcome everyone in your practice to register as Partner Society members at https://www.MyGreenDoctor.org or at www.MyGreenDoctor.es (sí, en español). Use the discount code MGDPSR when you register to get free access to My Green Doctor.

 

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Give to Texas PSR

We do so much with so little, imagine what we could do
with just a little bit more! 

DONATE NOW

OR to mail your contribution to us, please send a check to our 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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