From Our Team
Nutrition Month spotlights the role of food in our lives, promoting healthier choices and building better eating habits.
Posted on March 19, 2024 by Jana Renner
Nutrition Month is about understanding nutritious food’s vital role in our health and well-being. Through a grant from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation’s Healthy Eating Initiative, Desert Spoon is doing just that through Taster Space. In this food explorer program, children 5-11 years of age explore a different fruit or vegetable each week through hands-on activities and recipes to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and create home environments that promote healthy eating.
“Taster Space is essential for the PdN community…
Nominations open for next REALIZE Executive Cohort
Posted on February 19, 2024 by Dr. Michael Kelly
Leadership can be taught, and leadership can be learned. Using this premise, the REALIZE executive experience takes already good leaders and, over the course of ten months, helps them become transformational leaders for the benefit of the region’s health.
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation’s REALIZE Executive program is a world-class experience established in 2010 and tailored specifically for the Paso del Norte region to inspire and train a cohort of 20 high-level leaders at a time to build upon existing leadership qualities and skills. Offered every 2 to 3 years, the more than 100…
The diabetes journey can present challenges. But free programs like Project VyBE make the voyage easier.
Posted on January 25, 2024 by Dr. Michael Kelly
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation partners with the Texas A&M University Colonias Program, a diabetes initiative grantee, to offer Project VyBE. This new program helps participants, primarily residents of El Paso County colonias, learn to manage their diabetes while dealing with various factors that may impact their lives. Project VyBE trains regionally certified Community Health Workers (CHW) as diabetes education coaches. The CHW then works to establish relationships with individuals wanting to improve their diabetic condition or prevent the onset of the disease. Once a…
Could you have diabetes? Take the Free Online Risk Test
Posted on November 17, 2023 by Audrey Garcia
Let’s face the facts. In El Paso, the prevalence of diabetes outpaces the national average of 11.3 percent, with 15 percent of El Paso adults living with diabetes.
A recent study using data from PHIX, the Paso del Norte Health Information Exchange, shared that Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes rates are significantly higher in the older neighborhoods along the El Paso border with Mexico, running from central El Paso to Socorro, Ysleta del Sur, San Elizario, Fabens, and Tornillo. The data set used by PHIX also revealed that among those aged 65 and older, 37% have diabetes. …
BOOST Celebrates the Vital Role of OST Providers in Paso del Norte, with a special guest appearance of “Little Amal”
Posted on October 12, 2023 by Sandra Day
In the Paso del Norte region, a commitment to community collaboration and youth empowerment shines a pathway toward a brighter future. The annual “Lights on Afterschool” event, with its celebration of Out-of-School Time (OST) providers, ensures the path stays ignited for our children and community.
OST providers offer an invaluable service by extending learning opportunities beyond traditional school hours.
This year, the Borderland Out-of-School Time Network (BOOST)-Lights on Afterschool initiative will transcend geographical boundaries with a three-city event – in El Paso, Texas,…
Investing in the community's health through nutrition education.
Posted on September 8, 2023 by Jana Renner
Common Threads, a national nonprofit with programming in El Paso, equips communities with the knowledge and skills to make healthy food choices with hands-on culinary and nutrition classes. These classes become even more vital when we consider that approximately one in five children in the U.S., ages 2 to 19, suffers from obesity – a concern made worse following the pandemic. As September marks National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, it serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address and combat the escalating health challenges faced by our youth. Committed to…
The crucial role of parent engagement in student well-being
Posted on August 24, 2023 by Jana Renner
In today’s fast-paced world, our children’s health and well-being must remain a top priority. And schools play a significant role in child health. They deliver academic content in core subjects and provide knowledge, skills, and support to help children live healthy lives. One essential yet often overlooked entity in promoting the well-being of students is your school district’s School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). In an era when academic achievements often dominate discussions about educational excellence, SHACs provide a holistic approach that acknowledges the undeniable link between…
A Trail for Everyone
Posted on July 17, 2023 by Jana Renner
A vibrant outdoor hike/bike space is emerging mile-by-mile through neighborhoods across El Paso. With more than 20 miles of the planned 68-mile county-wide Paso del Norte Trail completed, residents from the Mission Valley to the Upper Valley and neighborhoods in between are enjoying this new amenity built for newcomers and already active walkers, runners, and cyclists. The Paso del Norte Trail master plan was developed over the last five years with funding from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation and input from local partners, stakeholders, and residents. The Health…
Realizing the value of nonprofit board service in our region
Posted on June 22, 2023 by Guest Author
Volunteering can be one of the most fulfilling experiences in a person’s life. People can volunteer time, talent, and treasures for various activities such as mentoring youth, distributing food at a local pantry, coaching youth sports, cleaning up an elderly neighbor’s yard, responding to a natural disaster, organizing fundraising events, participating in a place of worship, and much more.
Serving on a nonprofit board of directors is another excellent way to give back to your community. Being a board member, sometimes called a trustee, offers a meaningful opportunity to apply your…
Unlocking Social Success: The PEERS Program at the NMSU Papen-Aprendamos Autism Diagnostic Center
Posted on May 11, 2023 by Sandra Day
Parents and caregivers of children with autism are their lifelong teachers; for this reason, having an evidence-based curriculum like the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) that includes parents as coaches is invaluable.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interaction, communication, and behavior. Individuals with ASD often struggle with making and maintaining friendships, leading to isolation and loneliness. The U.S. Surgeon General says that lack of social connection poses a significant health risk, and…