From Our Team

The importance of afterschool programs for children

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Guest Author

At a recent conference I attended, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams shared that afterschool programs provided him with a foundation that guided him throughout his successful life. Dr. Adams also shared that his brother, who unfortunately didn’t have the same afterschool opportunities, is in prison less than 50 miles away from Dr. Adam’s D.C. office.

Across our region and nation, there are various types of afterschool programs available to youth year-round. Dr. Adams story demonstrates some of the benefits of participating in afterschool programs, but there are many more…

Eating more fruits and vegetables is a health benefit

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Jana Renner

It’s summer, and that means a greater variety of fruit and vegetable options at the grocery store. Watermelon and cantaloupe are my children’s summer favorites. Even with summer options, it isn’t easy for us to get recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 12 percent of Americans report eating the recommended amount of fruit (1.5 to 2 cups per day depending on your age and amount of physical activity). Even less, 9 percent, eat the recommended amount of vegetables (2 to 3 cups per day). However, 2/3 of Americans…

Exercising for your Mental Health

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Guest Author

Mental health is an important part of everyone’s life. It shapes how we think, feel and act when we’re alone and when we interact with the environment. Many times, when we think of mental health, we focus on an illness or a condition, but just like our physical well-being, we all vary in mental healthiness. Much like physical health, mental health requires regular maintenance.

Exercise is good for the body, but did you know it is also good for the mind? While many praise the physical benefits of working out, decades of research indicate that it can also improve an individual’s mental…

Supporting the dental needs of the community

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Anna Alemán

Texas Mission of Mercy (TMOM) is a mobile dental clinic that travels around the state providing free basic dental care to Texans with limited resources and/or access to care.

The last time El Paso hosted TMOM was in 2003. Thanks to a partnership between the El Paso District Dental Society, Texas Dental Association’s Smiles Foundation, Paso del Norte Charitable Foundation and dedicated volunteers, the dental clinic will be in El Paso on April 13 and 14 at Silva Health Magnet High School.

The two-day dental mission will bring hundreds of dental professionals and volunteers together to…

Tobacco industry using e-cigarettes to appeal to youth

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Enrique Mata

A key part of growing up is sharing experiences with trusted adults. The memories of these experiences, good or bad, can have a lifelong impact on youth.

This is especially true when it comes to the use of tobacco products. Research has shown that youth are less likely to use tobacco products when their parents disapprove of tobacco use; their relationships with parents include a balance of expressing care, providing support, and challenging growth; they do well in school and are involved in out of school activities; their friends are substance free; and they have self-control and…

Don't give up on your New Year Resolutions

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Dr. Michael Kelly

It is well into the new year and while some people have kept their New Year’s resolutions, others have not. If you are one who has set (and kept) a resolution to be healthier, congratulations; if not, don’t feel too bad. Changing the way one eats, exercises, consumes alcohol, smokes, sleeps or engages in any number of health behaviors is complex.

If just knowing the benefits of exercise would cause people to be active, then we would all exercise; if knowing that smoking was harmful, we would stop smoking. But, this is not the case. While information is helpful and frequently…

2017 Highlights: Improving Health and Quality of Life

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Tracy J. Yellen

One of our 2017 high points was welcoming home the first two Texas Tech Paul L. Foster School of Medicine graduates who elected to set up practices in El Paso after their residences. Dr. Iris Tomas and Dr. Jennifer Lopez-Perez were among the first participants in the Health Foundation’s “forgivable loan program,” established at Texas Tech nearly a decade ago to reward medical students if they practiced in El Paso.

The forgivable loan program is one of many investments that the Health Foundation is making to promote health and prevent disease in the region. Here are a few additional…

15 years of breathing clean indoor air

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Jana Renner

This year, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation joins a consortium of partners to celebrate a milestone that has improved our community’s health and quality of life – fifteen years of clean indoor air. Fifteen years ago, in 2002, El Paso became the first Texas city to adopt a Clean Indoor Air Ordinance. Since then, El Pasoans have enjoyed smoke-free restaurants and bars and employees have enjoyed smoke-free work environments. The adoption of the ordinance was revolutionary at the time yet smoke-free indoor spaces is now the norm. In fact, my teenagers do not remember a time they’ve…

El Paso Giving Day ignites the spirit of giving in our community

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Guest Author

Over 165 local nonprofit agencies are joining together on November 15 for El Paso Giving Day – a 24-hour social media campaign designed to raise awareness (and funds!) for worthwhile charitable causes in our community. And, we are upping the ante for this second annual event with a goal of raising $250,000 in a single day. It’s ambitious but, with your help, we know we can do it!

Nonprofits do incredibly important work in our community. As the fifth largest employer taken together, nonprofit organizations provide after-school child care, organize cancer support groups, feed and house…

Program in schools to help prevent teen dating violence

Posted on October 4, 2017

I was invited to a local middle school’s career day, where I was given the opportunity to explain my work developing a teen dating violence prevention curriculum.

To avoid complete boredom during my presentation, I immersed them in a curriculum activity.

(Life tip: Tell a middle school student they are the first to try your product, and they will enthusiastically agree to do it!)

The lesson consisted of identifying attitudes on “okay” and “not okay” behavior in a teen dating relationship. To my surprise, most of the students thought it was okay for their partner to engage in…