Rural and Community Engagement

Odessa Rural and Community Engagement

The Rural and Community Engagement Division (RCE) of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – Permian Basin (TTUHSC-PB) partners with communities and organizations to improve health outcomes. Through its “Medicine on the Move” initiative, a mobile health program, and a suite of other continually evolving programs, the RCE Division commits to improving population health.

Purpose

Developing newer models to improve access to healthcare. 

Priorities

• Provide Health Access Points
  Providing health access points is a strategic priority of the Rural and Community Engagement Division. Telehealth opportunities is the main tool we use to provide new health access points in rural areas of the Permian Basin and West Texas.
• Community Engagement
  Community engagement entails developing trusting connections with people and community organizations to learn health-related needs and bringing together resources to address the issues.
• Health Promotion
  RCE prioritizes the recognition that health is influenced by factors including access to healthcare, lifestyle factors, and socio-economic factors in its health promotion programs. We have developed a Lifestyle Medicine Worksheet that helps community members in their health behavior needs assessment as well as a client driven goal setting for achieving personal wellness goals. 
• Health Workforce Development and Training
  Permian Basin and most of the surrounding counties in the rural areas are designated Health Professions Shortage Areas. Thus, workforce development and training evolved as a natural priority mission for the RCE division.

Events

• National Rural Health Day
  Texas Tech University Health Science Center began celebrating the National Rural Health Day (NRHD) on November 16, 2023. In 2024, we had about 350 guests in attendance, including faculty, staff, medical students, resident physicians, high school students, health care students from West Texas institutions, and representation from rural healthcare organizations. The 2025 National Rural Health Day Celebration and Recruitment event will again be put together by Permian Basin Area Health Education Center, the State Office of Rural Health, and the Rural and Community Engagement at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. It will be a wonderful day of gathering to network with a keynote presentation, lunch, rural pioneer awards, poster sessions, a panel, and a recruitment fair.
• Rural Health High School Summer Camp
  In collaboration with our partners at Permian Basin Area Health Education Center and Sul Ross State University, the inaugural Rural Health Careers camp was hosted for rural high school students at Sul Ross State University Campus in Alpine from June 5 – June 7th, 2024. Due to its success and based on student feedback, class size and camp duration are increased for the 2025 camp. The goal of the camp (the only rural-focused summer healthcare career camp in Texas) is to illustrate the need and opportunities available for rural healthcare workers; equip them with information about the various disciplines in healthcare and training programs in West Texas from the community college, university level and professional schools; and engage them in meaningful experiences with their medical student and medical professional camp counselors.  This camp will be inclusive of academic institutions from West Texas and be multi-disciplinary in career focus. Healthcare training students from multiple institutions serve as camp counselors and mentors for the high school students. 

Programs

• Medicine on the Move
  Medicine on the Move is a mobile health program under the Rural and Community Engagement Division to learn and mitigate barriers communities have in improving health outcomes. This is an initiative of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in partnership with the Permian Strategic Partnership and the Caring Foundation of Texas. MOTM started three telehealth sites in St. Lawrence, Coyanosa, and Balmorhea ISD, along with other active sites in planning at Fort Davis, Mentone, and Sanderson. The program also supports the Marathon Telehealth Clinic. MOTM consistently participates in health promotion outreaches, strategic community engagements, wellness, and professional development sessions in various settings. We continue to provide community and rural experiences to medical, nursing, and PA students from TTUHSC as well as TCOM medical students, Midland College Primary Care Pathway students, UTPB pre-med and social work students, and TTUHSC Mental Health Fellowship programs. 
• Confianza: Hispanic-Oriented Medicine Enrichment
  All current RCE staff are integrally involved with the Confianza: HOME at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center - Permian Basin which is a federally designated Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Hispanic Center of Excellence created to: recruit, train, and retain students from the target area to become family medicine physicians and generate culturally competent healthcare providers to cater to the underserved population of rural West Texas. The RCE team has invested in accomplishing the goals of the grant through activities including shadowing programs, mentoring programs, campus tours, high school and college student presentations, scholarships, summer camps, and many other collaborative efforts. 
• Positive Wellness Narrative
  Positive Wellness Narrative is a collection of emerging interactive sessions used for health promotion and community engagement. It envisions creating a community space to learn, reflect, connect, share, and change based on narrative methods focusing on themes such as character strengths, connections, gratitude, lifestyle medicine, team building, and purpose.
• Student Mentoring Programs
  RCE actively participates in mentoring programs for students through Red Bag Tours, Summer Camps, Shadowing experiences, presentations, and ACCESS programming. Our partnership with ACCESS has developed a systematic mentoring program for students interested in medicine and nursing.  
• RCE Elective
  This course, currently offered to fourth-year medical students, will provide a community medicine experience in the rural Big Bend and Permian Basin area with the TTUHSC-Permian Basin Rural and Community Engagement (RCE) Division. Students participate in community medicine experiences and produce a scholarly interest product at the end of the rotation. Advocacy for vulnerable and underserved populations is a central theme of the RCE elective. Additionally, the RCE advocates for increased rural experience for students by participating in rural rotations for third-year medical students, increased specialty rotations, rural community experiences, and scholarships. 

People

Adrian N. Billings, MD, PhD, FAAFP

Associate Academic Dean
Rural and Community Engagement Division
F. Marie Hall Endowed Chair of Rural Health
Fellow of F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health
Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Phone: 432.703.5436

Dijo John, Pharm.D., MPH, MBA

Senior Director
Rural and Community Engagement Division
Phone: 432.703.5057

Margaret Robles

Unit Manager
Rural and Community Engagement Division
Phone: 432.703.5274