Border Health

Border Health Conference Highlights Need for Funding, Residency Programs - 10/17/2024

Physicians, lawmakers, city leaders, and others came together at the Texas Medical Association’s Border Health Conference in Laredo to find solutions to the most pressing issues affecting physicians and patients on the Texas-Mexico border.

TMA Border Health Conference Tackles Medicine’s Most Pressing Issues - 08/28/2023

As physician advocates, policymakers, and community leaders gathered in Harlingen for the Texas Medical Association’s annual Border Health Conference, the wide-ranging agenda included many of medicine’s priority issues along the Texas-Mexico border.

TMA Urges House Committee to Bolster Border Care Access - 10/05/2021

With 30 years of experience practicing primary care medicine in the Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg internist and Texas Medical Association President E. Linda Villarreal, MD, has unique insight into the region’s health care needs and how state lawmakers can build on previous legislation to address them.

How Has COVID-19 Affected Care Along the Border? - 09/15/2020

The Border Health Caucus and the Texas Medical Association will host a Tele-Town Hall meeting on COVID-19 specifically for physicians caring for patients along the border at 7 pm (CT), Thursday, Sept. 17.

Border Health Caucus: Who We Are - 12/02/2019

The status of health care along the U.S.-Mexico border is the canary in a coal mine for the rest of the United States. The 33-county region tops the nation’s charts for its high rates of residents who live in poverty or are uninsured, obese, diabetic, or have other chronic health care challenges and worries about long-term care. The demand for health care far outstrips available supply and access.

Border Health Caucus: In Numbers - 12/02/2019

Variation in population density can make access to health care a challenge for some, as physicians tend to work in more populous urban centers. For instance, El Paso County has a population density of 791 people per square mile, while Brewster County has 1.5 people per square mile. These two graphics illustrate just how expansive the Border region actually is.

Improve Health in Border Communities - 04/09/2019

Each year Texas gains more than half a million new residents, and many of these residents – children and adults – live and work in the counties bordering Mexico. Both urban and rural border counties have varying levels of public health resources but all face growing challenges to protect the health of their residents. Our local and state public health infrastructure must be prepared to respond to emerging health threats.

Texas Doctors Ready to Help Care for Migrant Children - 06/22/2018

Just as they did several years ago, Texas physicians stand ready to volunteer their help as the federal government addresses an influx of thousands of migrant children and their families at the United States-Mexico border.

Physicians, Lawmakers Address Health Issues Along Border - 09/18/2017

To address serious health concerns along the Texas-Mexico border, TMA’s Border Health Caucus in August held its annual Border Health Conference in Edinburg.