New HCV Study in Eagle Pass
Southwest Border AHEC and the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas in Eagle Pass have been notified by the Institute of Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS) that their grant partner, Dr. Wari Allison at UT Health San Antonio has been awarded a small community engagement grant through their Clinical Translation Science Award (CTSA) mechanism. The purpose of the grant is to perform a needs-assessment to determine the burden of chronic HCV infection in the Kickapoo Tribe population. Additionally, the grant provides education to the tribe’s Community Health Center Providers about risk factors for HCV infection, current screening recommendation and current options for curative treatment. Dr. Allison is an MD, PhD Assistant Professor Division of Infectious Diseases Department of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Allison work with us”, said Rebecca Rios, RN, Nurse Manager of the Tribe Health Center. The AHEC will assist in the project to provide needed facilitation of the outreach and data gathering needed to make sure the project is successful. “We want to use this grant opportunity as a stepping stone to conducting more research projects in our community”, reports Rose Martinez, Director of Southwest Border AHEC. “This is the first step in a really nice partnership for us all”. If you’d like more information regarding this project, please contact Southwest Border AHEC Director, Rose Martinez martinezr23@uthscsa.edu.