National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP)

Texas AHEC East – Greater Houston Region (GHR), in collaboration with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), The Houston Business Coalition on Health (HBCH), Cities Changing Diabetes (CCD), The National Association for Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with key stakeholders in the Houston area to convene a taskforce and develop a strategic plan to scale and sustain the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) - a CDC recognized, lifestyle change program for people with prediabetes. more...

School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey Project (SPAN)

Texas AHEC East – Greater Houston Region is partnering with the University of Texas School of Public Health at Austin, as well as the University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston to implement the School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) project. Through this initiative; 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 11th grade students across the Greater Houston region will receive basic health assessments to determine their health status and risks associated with obesity. Since its inception, over 322 school districts and 65,000 students have participated in the SPAN project.

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Tobacco Prevention and Control Coalition

“995,000 Kids in Texas are exposed in their own home to secondhand smoke.” 
Texas AHEC East Greater Houston Region and The Waller County Alliance for Lifestyle Choices coalition (WALC) received grant funding from the Department of State Health Services known as “Tobacco Prevention Control Coalition” (TPCC).  The funding created an opportunity for Junior High and High School children to become community liaisons in efforts to eliminate the use of tobacco because it is the leading preventable cause of illness and death in America.  Heart disease and stroke is the number one illness caused by smoking.   Many people including thousands of children are victims of secondhand smoke and its effects which result in the same cancer causing chemicals as those who smoke.  The High school TPCC youth have been instrumental in providing tobacco education to the Waller County Elementary Schools with an estimated reach of 4,500 students and adults in the community; the passing of a Smoke Free Ordinance in Hempstead Texas (county seat) estimated reach of 6,600 citizens and presenting the Prairie View City council to pass a Smoke Free Ordinance (pending council signatures) estimated reach of 6,100 citizens.  We have received tremendous support from Mayor Wolfe of Hempstead, Mayor Allen of Prairie View and Judge Mariam Jackson of Hempstead for our efforts in Waller County....more