News

Offering comprehensive sexual education to youth in Ciudad Juárez

August 17, 2015

Teens talking directly to other teens is creating a healthy conversation around sexuality in Ciudad Juárez.

Using a peer-to-peer training model, the FEMAP Foundation is providing comprehensive sexuality education for 8,000 youth age 12 to 18 in primary and secondary schools in Juárez.

The effort is part of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation’s groundbreaking Two Should Know initiative. It’s part of an overarching goal to bring about long-term improvement in sexual health across a lifespan and reduce negative health outcomes such as premature pregnancies, sexually transmitted…

Archive Program: River Park Bike and Walk Path

August 17, 2015

Rio Grande Trail System - River Park bike and walk path Archive Program: 2002-2006

Having safe places to stay active is an important component of a physically active community. The Rio Grande River Park Trail Project was an important collaboration to build this infrastructure. This project developed an interconnected set of bike/walk trails to provide safe areas for physical activity in the El Paso area.

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation, El Paso County, the City of El Paso, the International Boundary and Water Commission and Groundwork El Paso worked together to…

CEO retires from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation

July 23, 2015

Myrna Deckert, CEO of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation for the past eight years, announced her retirement Friday. The Health Foundation’s Board of Directors will begin a search for a replacement and Deckert will continue in her role until a successor is named.

Long a pillar in the El Paso community and in non-profits across Texas and the nation, Deckert was named CEO of the Health Foundation in 2007. Under her leadership the Health Foundation has grown the number of program initiatives it supports to include a sharp focus on healthy eating and active living, mental and emotional…

REALIZE Cohort for 2015-16 is announced

June 29, 2015

Dramatic change is taking shape in the fields of population health and medicine. This fast and progressive evolution in our community requires capable leadership. In response, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation created REALIZE, an innovative leadership development experience that helps ensure a network of leaders, who are committed to improving health for the benefit of future generations.

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation is pleased to announce the REALIZE Cohort for 2015-16. These individuals will begin an intense nine-month experience starting in July, which is custom designed to…

Archive Initiative - Ageless Health

June 29, 2015

Ageless Health - 2000-2007 Caring for the health of the 60 and over population

The value of a community and the structure of family life are in transformation due to the demographic shift in the increasing number of older people in our society. People over the age of 65 have more than doubled, and during the next 30 years, that number will double again.

Understanding the concerns of keeping the aging community healthy, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation created the Ageless Health Initiative. The initiative was designed to develop or expand volunteer-based projects to support the…

Shift+ takes deliberate, thoughtful approach to Binge Drinking

June 16, 2015

Michael Sparks is an alcohol policy specialist who works with communities across the country to address alcohol-related problems using evidence-based strategies.

When the Paso del Norte Health Foundation called on him in 2014 to help with its Shift+ initiative, Sparks’ initial impression was highly positive because of what he saw as the Foundation’s deliberate and thoughtful approach to the problem of binge drinking.

The Foundation’s Shift+ initiative is a new framework to reduce binge drinking in the region. The YMCA serves as the organizing agency in the U.S. FECHAC serves as the…

2014 Annual Reports

June 10, 2015

2014 Annual Reports E-mail The Paso del Norte Health Foundation’s annual report celebrates the Foundation’s 20th anniversary and how the Foundation has evolved to improve the health of the region. In addition, a few of the first initiatives are highlighted and the movement towards a region driven by the power of healthy living.

The Paso del Norte Foundation’s annual report shares the partnership with more than 10 nonprofit organizations through the Challenge Fund raising over $925,000 in new and increased gifts from more than 2,000 donors, providing matching funds and…

Archive Initiative - Center for Border Health Research

June 5, 2015

Sound research is the basis upon which health prevention and education programs are designed.

The Center for Border Health Research (CBHR) was developed to bring together the major regional research institutes to initiate health research for the Paso del Norte region. This was achieved through programs designed to fund regional health research, increase the competitiveness of regional researchers in grant seeking, provide regional researchers with training and other tools that would increase their capacity to conduct research, and collect surveillance data in the region.

The overall…

Foundations announce New Board Chair and Members

June 3, 2015

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation is pleased to announce the election of Carolyn Mora, as the new 2015-16 Board Chair. Ms. Mora has served on the board since 2010 and is a Certified Public Accountant, Carolyn L. Mora Financial Services.

Jose Prieto, M.D. was appointed as Vice-Chair and Chair-Elect. He has served on the board since 2011 and is in private practice, Partners in Pediatrics.

The Foundation also elected four new members to the Board of Directors – Guadalupe “Pita” de la Vega, Vice-President of Almacenes Distribuidores de la Frontera, Bruce Esterline, Senior Vice…

Foundation awards 2015 grants for a Smoke Free Community

June 2, 2015

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation recently awarded five grants totaling more than $3.2 million under the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Priority Area – A Smoke Free Paso del Norte initiative.

The purpose of A Smoke Free Paso del Norte initiative is to promote health and prevent disease in the Paso del Norte region by reducing smoking. Top priorities include programs aimed at children and youth, making cessation programs widely available, and promoting smoke-free environments. A Smoke Free Paso del Norte also strives to reduce the smoking rate among intermittent smokers, pregnant women,…