WESLACO  —  Flanked by two state senators from South Texas, John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, launched Healthy South Texas, a pilot effort to reduce preventable diseases in the region.

State officials and program leaders toast the launch of Texas A&M AgriLife's Healthy South Texas with a healthy smoothie. From left are state Senators Eddie Lucio and Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa; Elaine Gonzalez, AgriLife Extension agennt; and John Sharp, Texas A&M chancellor. Looking on are program leaders Dr. Susan Ballabina and Dr. Scott Lillibridge, M.D. (AgriLife Extension photo by Alex Blinder)
State officials and program leaders toast the launch of Texas A&M AgriLife’s Healthy South Texas with a healthy smoothie. From left are state Senators Eddie Lucio and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa; Elaine Gonzalez, AgriLife Extension agennt; and John Sharp, Texas A&M chancellor. Looking on are program leaders Dr. Susan Ballabina and Dr. Scott Lillibridge, M.D. (AgriLife Extension photo by Alex Blinder)

“We’re doing for health what Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agents have done for agriculture for more than a century,” Sharp told an audience recently at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco. “Essentially, we’re creating a new crop of AgriLife Extension agents, poised to empower Texans to take control of their own health and wellness.”

The pilot program of the Healthy Texas Initiative, Healthy South Texas will combine expertise of the Texas A&M Health Science Center with outreach efforts of AgriLife Extension to promote preventive health awareness at the local community level.

The state senators who shared the stage with Sharp, Eddie Lucio of Brownsville and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen, oversaw the allocation of state funds for the project, Sharp said.

“This is about prevention,” Sharp said. “Eighty percent of the illnesses that affect us are preventable. We don’t want people going into hospitals after they have terrible symptoms of diabetes, for example. We want to screen them early.”

The program will focus on the highest impact diseases in the region, including diabetes, asthma and infectious diseases. It will bring together experts from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, biomedical science, public health, architecture and AgriLife Extension.

Sharp said that reaching out to South Texans is the key to a successful program that will serve as a model for the state and nation.

“We are going to make sure that every family is screened,” he said. “We’ve learned that you have to reach people personally. We’re going to be going directly to families, into groups, into churches and screening people.”

“The health of our people is extremely important to me,” said Lucio. “When Texas A&M gets involved with anything, great things happen. And I’m so happy that their presence here is alive and well, and it’s going to be very clear for everyone to see what exactly will unfold with the program in the south area of this great state of ours. I’m proud to be here to tell you that great things are coming with the rollout of this healthy program in our area with Chancellor Sharp at the helm.”

Hinojosa said the health center, combined with Texas A&M AgriLife programs, would make the South Texas program stronger.

“The key to a strong and successful future for Texas is only possible if we ensure that the next generation of Texans is healthy and well-educated,” he said. “Health is not a luxury. Health is a necessity. The more healthcare providers we have available to help families stay healthy, the better off we all are.”

Dr. Susan Ballabina, the AgriLife Extension associate director of program development at College Station, said the effort has already started by creating coalitions with local groups throughout the program’s 27 target counties in South Texas to create health-related programs, including farmers markets and community and school gardening programs.

“We’ll also focus on programs that promote physical activities,” she said. “We’ll develop programs that motivate people to get out and move more to increase their overall sense of well-being. And probably most importantly, we’ll be reaching out to young people to encourage them to lead healthier lifestyles from a very young age and spread the word of healthy living.”

Dr. Scott Lillibridge, director of health initiatives at the Texas A&M Health Science Center in College Station, said staving off diseases by just a few years is important to healthy living.

“If you can postpone diabetes for just five or 10 years, your chances of having good blood pressure and other health benefits are just tremendous,” he said. “Your life will be vastly different than if you develop diabetes in earlier years.”

Lillibridge said Healthy South Texas is designed to help Texans far into the future.

“This innovative program will serve the region as a whole, while developing tools, technologies and strategies that can be applied to public health challenges around the state,” he said. “In doing so, we will improve the health of Texans for years to come.”

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