Center for Community and Rural Health Education
The Center for Community and Rural Health Education offers multiple services to aid in improving the health of patients and community members in East Texas. By means of education, we focus on creating healthier habits leading to an all-encompassing lifestyle change. Our goal is to improve and expand quality of life by reducing chronic disease health implications, including but not limited to prediabetes, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. All workshops are taught by a certified Community Health Worker (CHW) as well as a certified Lifestyle Change Coach and are held in a group discussion format in order to foster a supportive environment.
The Center for Community and Rural Health Education was created from the Medicaid Waiver, Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP). Upon creation, “the Center” for Rural and Community Health housed DSRIP projects in addition to population health projects and programs. Once the School of Community and Rural Health was established in 2018, “the Center’s” name and focus changed to Center for Population Health, Analytics, & Quality Advancement. As of January 1, 2022, activities in the Center consists mostly of grant and contract opportunities mainly utilizing Community Health Workers (CHWs). Additionally, the Center houses and operates the Northeast Texas regional office for Texas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) East, Texas Department of State Health Services approved Community Health Worker Training Center, Northeast Texas CHW Coalition, Healthy Paths for Strong Brains, and the Lifestyle Change Programs which include Active Living After Cancer, Blood Pressure Management Workshops, Blood Pressure Cuff Lending Libraries, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved Diabetes Prevention Program – Prevent T2 and Prevenga El T2, as well as a National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) approved Lifestyle Coach Training Center. The Center is well known for its work in the community providing population health services, resource assistance through CHWs, and community health education.