Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/759603
t m c ยป p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6 21 have nowhere to go," she said. "Even people that work can't afford to go to the doctor. I have insurance but if I didn't use this bus, I don't get to pay all my lights. I don't get to buy groceries." The clinic has created partnerships with local hospitals and specialists as far away as Houston for cases that require further expertise and care. Toscano is currently collaborating with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide specialized cervical screening for his patients, and he is always looking for new specialists willing to offer their resources to this population. Just getting started Slowly but surely, the Rio Grande Valley is getting healthier. Salud y Vida has determined that 70 percent of the program's participants have lower glu- cose levels at their three-month follow-up visit and the community is spreading the word about diabetes management and prevention. Basic health care is now accessible to an increasing number of residents, and the UTHealth School of Public Health in Brownsville, which has brought more than $70 million in grants and funding to the region since McCormick and Fisher-Hoch arrived, says it's just getting started. "This is working because of our local Salud y Vida participant Blanca Holland inside her clothing shop with promotora Rosalia Ramirez. Below: A morning workout class sponsored by Salud y Vida. partners, our community advisory board made up of hundreds of organizations in this region, but also partnerships with UT and other insti- tutions across the state," Reininger said. "We're accessing funding from a variety of places but also have a common vision of what to do with it." Their initiative has been so well-received that, according to McCormick, the model they created for translating scientific research into community impact will be integrated into The University of Texas System's new plan for population health. "I feel like our achievement is not just here in Brownsville, but it's also reached across the state," he said. "We're starting to do what we said we would do." During a recent home visit, Francisco Garza sat at his kitchen table while a community health worker measured his blood pressure and glucose levels. A bowl of fruit had been scooted to the side to make room for new informational handouts. Around them hung photos of the Garza family and images of the Virgin Mary. Garza's levels looked good, and he felt happy that his hard work was paying off. Finally, he asked the question that had been weighing on his mind: How could he become a promotora himself? Overhearing this, his wife laughed. "You're telling everyone you know about being healthy," she said, noting the neighbors, his clients and the random person sitting next to him at a Salud y Vida event. "You're already a promotora!"