The Health Promotion Unit of Austin, Texas is devoted to providing lifelong recreational, cultural and educational opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles and environments that create a sustainable and livable community. To achieve this goal, the Unit offers free programs to the Austin community that address health conditions and lifestyle factors that drive healthcare costs, reduce productivity, and increase turnover. The Del Valle Health & Wellness Center is one such program. It will replace the existing CommunityCare Del Valle Health Center and offer wellness programs to Del Valle and surrounding communities.
The center will promote physical and mental well-being among residents of southeastern Travis County, as well as provide more clinical services. The Food Protection System is another program that works with community partners to incorporate injury prevention initiatives into their ongoing programs. It promotes health and prevents diseases through education, training and regulation, in partnership with operators and employees of the nearly 5,000 food service establishments in Austin and Travis County. Neighborhood centers provide emergency rent, utility and food assistance to low-and moderate-income families in need. The Maternal-Child Outreach Program (MIOP) provides peer-to-peer support and promotion to black and African American women who are pregnant in Austin, in an effort to address and eliminate sharp racial disparities in maternal and child mortality. CommunityCare, a federally qualified health center (FQHC), will provide primary health care services and occupy 12,000 square feet of the center. The 78744 Community Youth Development Program is a state-funded program that provides a variety of juvenile delinquency prevention services to support families and improve positive youth development in the 78744 zip code alone.
The Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Program (CDIP) works to promote health and quality of life in Austin and Travis County, working with the community to prevent and control diseases. Mom's Place Breastfeeding Support Center is a clinic specializing in breastfeeding support and a training center where mothers can receive breastfeeding assistance. The Sandra Joy Anderson Community Health & Wellness Center is another example of the city's commitment to health promotion. It was opened with the help of Patricia “Trish” Young Brown, president and CEO of Central Health; Kirk Watson, senator from Texas; Ada Cecilia Collins Anderson; Colette Pierce Burnette, president and CEO of Huston-Tillotson University; and Steve Adler, from the city of Austin, mayor. William Lawson, assistant dean of Health Disparities at the Dell School of Medicine, will develop new models of care, combine training and research programs to address needs in East Austin. Regulations and ordinances play a critical role in reducing diseases and improving the health of the general population.
Austin's Health Promotion Unit has made great strides in providing comprehensive health programs for its citizens. From Del Valle Health & Wellness Center to Food Protection System to Maternal-Child Outreach Program (MIOP) to 78744 Community Youth Development Program to Chronic Disease & Injury Prevention Program (CDIP) to Mom's Place Breastfeeding Support Center to Sandra Joy Anderson Community Health & Wellness Center - these programs are designed to promote physical and mental well-being among residents of southeastern Travis County while also providing more clinical services. These initiatives are aimed at reducing healthcare costs, increasing productivity, preventing diseases through education, training and regulation, providing emergency rent, utility and food assistance for low-and moderate-income families in need as well as eliminating sharp racial disparities in maternal and child mortality. The city has also taken steps towards developing new models of care that combine training and research programs to address needs in East Austin.
In conclusion, Austin's Health Promotion Unit has made great strides towards providing comprehensive health programs for its citizens. These initiatives are aimed at promoting physical and mental well-being while also providing more clinical services.
