Hispanic Center of Excellence
Mission Statement | Other Center of Excellence Sites
The Hispanic Center of Excellence (HCOE) is an outreach and education program under the Office of Border Health at the Texas Tech University Health Science Center (TTUHSC) in El Paso.
It was established to respond to two health care needs that are wanting on the U.S.-Mexico border: access to culturally competent health care needs by underserved individuals and the shortage of underrepresented minorities in the field of medicine.
Office: 915-545-6550 | Fax: 915-545-6548
Email : Joyce.Palmer@ttuhsc.edu
Mission Statement
The mission of the Texas Tech Hispanic Center of Excellence is to increase the number of Hispanic physicians by expanding the educational pipeline beginning at the elementary school level; to provide opportunities for research and career development to Hispanic junior faculty; to provide superior community-based and culturally competent health care services to Hispanics on the US-Mexico border; and to increase the quality and quantity of research on health issues that impact Hispanics in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The following components have been targeted in support of this mission:
Student Performance-Texas Tech is committed to the successful matriculation of its students in the School of Medicine. Past history indicates that while Hispanic students do graduate at a rate of almost 100%, their need for remediation is four times greater than that of the non-under-represented groups. Our academic support structure, which includes early identification, intervention and remediation, will focus on the first two years of the curriculum, that time period when problems most often tend to develop.
Faculty Development-The goal of this component is to increase the number of tenured Hispanic faculty members in the Texas Tech School of Medicine. To realize this, the HCOE offers a faculty fellowship program, which will afford an opportunity for junior faculty to work with seasoned researchers and educators. There is also a support phase that will provide resources for professional skill development. The HCOE will also conduct a local faculty development course that is open to all junior faculty. The course will address such themes as research productivity, cultural competence, consultation and referral skills, and community service.
Information Resources, Clinical Education, Curricula, and Cultural Competence-HCOE wishes to augment the existing clinical education program that focuses on Hispanic health care issues and cultural competence. Our objective is to increase opportunities for students to participate in ambulatory care in the community clinics located in the colonias. Students from any LCME accredited institution are eligible and will receive a stipend to offset the expense of moving to the El Paso area for this six-week summer elective. There is an ongoing need for access to books and journals that reflect up-to-date research on Hispanic health issues on the U.S.-Mexico border. In response to this the HCOE has provided funding to the TTUHSC library for pertinent acquisitions in these areas
Faculty and student research-HCOE provides opportunities for faculty and students to participate in clinical research and to develop investigations that will assist in securing external funding. Research efforts will focus on border health issues in the colonias. HCOE encourages collaborative efforts with students from the UT Houston School of Public Health who are already involved in this same type of research.
Training in healthcare services-The HCOE provides opportunities for larger numbers of primary care residents to train in rural community-based clinics. These rotations will provide exposure to rural practice sites as well as insight into the culture and characteristics of a U.S.-Mexico community. We have a liaison with the school systems in these communities to foster health care teaching and student mentoring opportunities.
Pipeline Expansion and Development of Competitive applicant pool-The goal of this multi-component program is to expand the medical school applicant pool. Our focus is elementary, middle and high schools as well as four-year universities. Activities include high school health career orientations and summer camps, health magnet high school rotations, and Parent and Partners, which provides information to parents about heath careers. At the university level, we offer the Premed Enrichment Program and the Summer Premed Activity as well as our traditional recruitment activities at our targeted colleges and universities.
To visit other Center of Excellence sites, try these hyperlinks:
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/dhpd/coe/
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/diversity/coe/grants/