There are rarely simple solutions to the challenges of providing healthcare to people living in rural areas, often far away not just from specialized medical care but from basic services like asthma monitoring, cancer screening, and mental health counseling. There is, however, a fairly basic principle that guides much of the work that UT people and institutions are doing to provide care to rural Texans. If they can’t come to us, we’ll go to them. 

We’ll go to them in customized vans that deliver medical care to schools and community centers. We’ll use telemedicine technology to beam psychiatric expertise from the Gulf Coast to a state hospital just south of the Oklahoma border. We’ll partner up with rural hospitals so that they can benefit from the resources of one of our major health institutions. We’ll do what it takes.

The January issue of Texas Health Journal looks at some of the work we’re doing to serve our fellow Texans who live outside the cities. 

It’s also the first issue of the new year, and, appropriately, a new phase for the newsletter. We’ve redesigned the Texas Health Journal logo. We’ve refreshed the design of the newsletter to make it cleaner and more modern. And we’re launching Twitter and Facebook accounts, which you can find @txhealthjournal and at facebook.com/texashealthjournal. Follow us. Tag us. Like us. Above all, connect with us. 

Best,
David Lakey, MD
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer
The University of Texas System
@DavidLakey_MD