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We know you care about the health of people in San Antonio.
Watch our webinar, “All of Us in Alamo City Matter: Where You Live Impacts Your Health,” at 10-11 a.m. CT, Wednesday, March 20, 2024!
The webinar explored the state of social determinants of health (SDOH) in San Antonio and how we can leverage the All of Us Research Program to promote health equity in health research.
Some studies suggest that SDOH plays a role in about 30% to 55% of our health outcomes. This means that nearly half of our health issues are a result of our environment and life circumstances.
Hear more from our expert panelists, including representatives from South Texas Blood & Tissue, Mexican American Unity Council, and Salud America! at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.
Together, see how we can make a difference for the health of San Antonio!
All of Us Webinar Panelists
The panel was moderated by Allison Rhea, manager of clinical research at South Texas Blood & Tissue.
Panelists include:
Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH is the chair and professor of population health sciences at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center at San Antonio. Here, she is also founding director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research and associate director of community outreach and engagement at the Mays Cancer Center. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Ramirez has led over 100 intervention studies and communications projects that have reduced Latino health disparities, increased diversity in cancer screening and clinical trials, and reduced smoking rates. She is the leader of the Salud America! national program that has changed systems and policies to build a culture of health equity for Latinos and all people. She has authored over 150 peer-reviewed articles.
Adrienne Mendoza became senior vice president at BioBridge Global and chief operating officer at South Texas Blood & Tissue in January 2022. She has more than 20 years of experience in quality systems and regulatory affairs and Lean Six Sigma and strategic planning. She has expertise in blood and blood components, cell-based therapies, and human tissue products. She holds a certificate in Healthcare Executive Leadership from the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She has been nominated to the 2022 Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School in Boston, MA. She has completed executive leadership programs in business culture at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Crystal Requejo is the chief operating officer of the Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC) in San Antonio, Texas. She oversees all programs and operations at MAUC and its three affordable housing properties. She holds multiple certifications that help reduce social determinants of health in the community. She is also certified as a financial counselor for the NCLR Homeownership Network Learning Alliance (NHNLA) and is a Texas community health worker. In November 2018, she completed the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCB) Pete Gallegos Fellowship and received her nonprofit management certification from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
All of Us Webinar Partners
The All of Us Research Program
The All of Us Research Program is inviting one million people across the U.S. to help build one of the most diverse health databases in history. We welcome participants from all backgrounds. Researchers will use the data to learn how our biology, lifestyle, and environment affect health.
South Texas Blood & Tissue
South Texas Blood & Tissue (STBT) is a nonprofit community blood center that provides blood, plasma, platelets, and other blood components to 100 hospitals in 48 South Texas counties. It is the largest blood supplier in our region. In addition, STBT supports the development of advanced therapies, including those derived from donated human cells and tissues used in research and in new therapies and cures for cancers and degenerative diseases. Through the generous life-legacy gifts of human tissue, STBT also supports development of tissue allografts for patients in need of reconstructive surgery, repair, or tissue regeneration. South Texas Blood & Tissue has a 50-year history serving the South Texas community and is part of the BioBridge Global family of nonprofit organizations, which offers services in regenerative medicine and research including blood banking and resource management; cellular therapy; umbilical cord blood collection and storage; donated human tissue recovery and distribution for transplant; and testing of blood and plasma to help patients in the United States and worldwide. STBT has nine donor centers in South Texas and conducts hundreds of mobile blood drives each year.
The Mexican American Unity Council
MAUC was incorporated in 1967 as a means to diligently organize for economic and political empowerment of the Mexican American population in San Antonio. MAUC continues to seek ways to build the organization’s effectiveness and sustainability in the delivery of social services in the area of education, health, family strengthening and community economic development to all areas of the City and County. The process of assisting an individual or group to identify and address issues and gain insights, knowledge and experience needed to solve problems and implement change.
Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio
Salud America! is a national Latino-focused organization, based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, that creates culturally relevant and research-based stories, videos, and tools to inspire people to start and support healthy changes to policies, systems, and environments where Latino children and families can equitably live, learn, work, and play.
By The Numbers
142
Percent
Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years
