The UT Health Science Center's Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science works with translational advisory boards in several counties to improve community health.
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Contact: Will Sansom, 210-567-2579

PEARSALL, Texas (Feb. 18, 2011) — Cholesterol testing, CPR demonstrations, fitness advice and a kids hula hoop contest are among the activities on tap for the Frio County Heart Health Fair, set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Pearsall High School Gym, 1900 Maverick Drive in Pearsall. The event is free and open to the public.

The Frio County Translational Advisory Board is the event sponsor. The Translational Advisory Board is a group of Pearsall community members who, in partnership with the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, aim to improve community health by engaging in community-based participatory research and educational outreach activities.

Michael Thompson, chief executive officer of Frio Regional Hospital, chairs the board, which includes representatives of the area Boy Scouts, the Pearsall Rotary Club, the Frio County Extension Office, the Hood Medical Clinic, Wesley Nurses and other groups.

Robert Clark, M.D., is assistant vice president for clinical research and director of the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science.

Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science
Translational Advisory Boards are brought to South Texas communities by the Health Science Center’s Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS), a department funded by the National Institutes of Health through a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). Community engagement is a core activity of the IIMS and its nine CTSA partners.

Other advisory boards are serving communities in Bexar, Comal, Gillespie and Guadalupe.

In addition to the advisory board, the Heart Health Fair is sponsored by the IIMS, the South Central Area Health Education Center and the UT School of Public Health. For more information about the fair, please contact Veronica Villela Perez at 210-567-7818 or send an e-mail to tab@uthscsa.edu.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving U.S. federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled $228 million in fiscal year 2010. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $744 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.