Register now for Rural Health Book Club on "The Wellness Trap" by Christy Harrison

It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.” You've probably heard this phrase from any number of people in the wellness space. But as Christy Harrison reveals in her latest book, wellness culture promotes a standard of health that is often both unattainable and deeply harmful.

The Wellness Trap delves into the persistent, systemic problems with that industry, offering insight into its troubling pattern of cultural appropriation and its destructive views on mental health, and shedding light on how a growing distrust of conventional medicine has led ordinary people to turn their backs on science. Weaving together history, memoir, reporting, and practical advice, Harrison illuminates the harms of wellness culture while re-imagining our society’s relationship with well-being.

More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

The first installment of Mix it Up will feature a panel of Waco Family Medicine providers and residents speaking on their experiences.

Mix It Up is an online webinar series on intersectional issues for healthcare students and community members. Through a more conversational, casual tone, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, network, and engage deeply. Each session starts with a 30-45 minute presentation from the speaker, and afterwards we break into Q&A for the remainder of the time. AHEC Scholars may receive an hour in credit towards their hours for attending the session.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on Blazing Hot Takes by the Curbsiders Addiction Medicine podcast.

Join us to hear the latest pearls and best practices on talking to patients about vaping, if e-cigarettes can be used to stop smoking cigarettes, and every other question you hadn’t thought to ask about vaping with Drs. Pam Ling and Maya Vijayaraghavan.

More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here. CMEs and episode can be claimed here: https://thecurbsiders.com/addiction-medicine-podcast/30-blazing-hot-takes-the-latest-in-vaping-with-drs-ling-and-vijayaraghavan

ATS, CV, and more, oh my! Job hunting in the LinkedIn era can feel overwhelming, but fortunately we’re here to help. Join us for a job preparation session on Zoom during lunch or dinner for accountability and expert advice.

The second installment of Mix it Up will feature Dr. Megan Williams, a current Waco AHEC board member and current professor at Texas A&M University. She will be presenting on her work in human sexuality, as well as the journey she took to get to that work today.

Mix It Up is an online webinar series on intersectional issues for healthcare students and community members. Through a more conversational, casual tone, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, network, and engage deeply. Each session starts with a 30-45 minute presentation from the speaker, and afterwards we break into Q&A for the remainder of the time. AHEC Scholars may receive an hour in credit towards their hours for attending the session.

Megan Williams, PhD, CHES® is currently an Instructional Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®). She is an innovative educator with a variety of college-level teaching experiences in public health and sexuality-related courses. In the classroom, she utilizes a variety of teaching methods including game-based learning, student-led projects and hands-on activities to maximize student learning and engagement. Professionally, Megan is interested in improving sexual health outcomes of young adults by increasing sexual health care utilization, implementing comprehensive sexuality education, and exploring the components of sexual health interventions. In conjunction with student researchers, she investigates access to contraception in the Bryan/College Station area. Her previous research projects have explored barriers and facilitators to sexual health services in the Southern U.S..Previously, she worked at the North Carolina School Health Training Center, where she oversaw mental and sexual health curriculum professional development, and within the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, where she explored avenues to improve various sexuality curricula.

She is a Section Councilor within the Sexual and Reproductive Health section of the American Public Health Association and the founder of Young Professionals of Sexual and Reproductive Health. Previously, Megan earned her B.S. in Public Health and MPH in Health Behavior from East Carolina University (ECU) and her Ph.D. in Health Education and Promotion from The University of Alabama.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on "The Price We Pay" by Dr. Maty Makary.

One in five Americans now has medical debt in collections and rising health care costs today threaten every small business in America. Dr. Makary, one of the nation's leading health care experts, travels across America and details why health care has become a bubble. Drawing from on-the-ground stories, his research, and his own experience, The Price We Pay paints a vivid picture of the business of medicine and its elusive money games in need of a serious shake-up. Dr. Makary shows how so much of health care spending goes to things that have nothing to do with health and what you can do about it. Dr. Makary challenges the medical establishment to remember medicine's noble heritage of caring for people when they are vulnerable.

The Price We Pay offers a road map for everyday Americans and business leaders to get a better deal on their health care, and profiles the disruptors who are innovating medical care. The movement to restore medicine to its mission, Makary argues, is alive and well--a mission that can rebuild the public trust and save our country from the crushing cost of health care.

More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

The first installment of Mix it Up will feature Dr. Kathileen Boozer, a previous board member of Waco AHEC and a current featured speaker on chronic care issues in healthcare.

Mix It Up is an online webinar series on intersectional issues for healthcare students and community members. Through a more conversational, casual tone, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, network, and engage deeply. Each session starts with a 30-45 minute presentation from the speaker, and afterwards we break into Q&A for the remainder of the time. AHEC Scholars may receive an hour in credit towards their hours for attending the session.

Dr. Kathileen Boozer is a full-time clinical practitioner and previously taught in the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs at LHSON. Dr. Boozer graduated from Baylor University in 2003 with a degree in Political Science. She began her nursing career after graduating from West Texas A&M with her BSN in 2008. Dr. Boozer pursued her passion for nursing and serving others and became a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2011. Kathileen completed a dermatology internship in 2014 and has been specializing her practice in dermatology and community health since that time. Dr. Boozer earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Creighton University in 2018. Dr. Boozer is an active member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Dermatology Nurses Association, National Academy of Dermatology Nurse Practitioners, Texas Nurse Practitioner Association, National League of Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Healing Justice Lineages” by Cara Page and Erica Woodland. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Abolition and Social Work”, an essay collection. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Hooked” by Lonny Shavelson. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

Join us for an ongoing education presentation for community members and Community Health Workers. We’ll be discussing the infrequently talked about but ever-present aspects of healthcare. For the month of August, we’ll be discussing end of life care and advocacy. The focus is to teach CHWs about compassionate end-of-life care and the Death Positive movement and explore the role of death doulas in how they allow the dying person to make choices based on what they consider a good death. Examples of topics are providing practical support to individuals and their families during the sacred journey of dying from navigating difficult conversations to fostering a peaceful transition and ensuring end of life wishes are followed through. Our speaker for the event is Becky Shumake, Senior Director of Palliative Care at Community Healthcare of Texas.

Want to get a CE for this event as a CHW?

Waco AHEC and Piney Woods have partnered together to provide CEs for this event. In order to get your certificate, you will need to take the intro and outro quizzes, as well as stay the entire duration of the Zoom webinar. Shontel Minor will provide the certificates, contact her at shontel.minor@txaheceast.org

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “The Black Angels” by Maria Smilios. This book covers the nursing shortage during the tuberculosis crisis of the 1930’s, and then Black, Southern nurses who showed up to turn the tides against it. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

Join us for an ongoing education presentation for community members and Community Health Workers. We’ll be discussing the infrequently talked about but ever-present aspects of healthcare. For the month of July, we’ll be discussing what harm reduction is in the context of substance abuse. Our speaker for the event is Gaby Libretti, Harm Reductionist, QMHP. Her role is Capacity Building Manager with Texas Harm Reduction Alliance.

Understanding Harm Reduction

Join us for an insightful webinar on harm reduction, a public health approach aimed at minimizing the negative consequences associated with drug use and other high-risk behaviors. This webinar will cover the following key topics:

• Introduction to Harm Reduction: Gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practices that define harm reduction.

• Barriers to Healthcare for People Who Use Drugs (PWUD): Explore the challenges PWUD face in accessing healthcare services.

• Strategies for Addressing Barriers to Healthcare for PWUD: Learn effective interventions and solutions to improve healthcare access for PWUD.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Rough Sleepers” by Tracy Kidder. This book discusses the challenges of treating the homeless, and makes the bold claim that there will not be health without social justice for the transient population. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

Join us for an ongoing education presentation for community members and Community Health Workers. We’ll be discussing the infrequently talked about but ever-present aspects of healthcare- starting with our presentation on Cultural Humility with Armando Molina from the Valley Aids Council.

The fourth and final installment of Mix it Up will feature BSW providers discussing the challenges of trans healthcare in Texas, as well as the promise of continuing research for our community.

The Mix it Up series is hosted in partnership with the All of Us Research Program. Learn more about the All of Us Research Program here: Joinallofus.org/togetherDALLAS

Join Rural Health Book Club for a brief (but educational) departure from nonfiction. "The Frozen River" covers a murder, the brutal realities of older medicine, and a midwife who's never lost a baby. It's based on the fascinating diary of said midwife- and we can't wait to see you react to the twist ending. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

The third installment of Mix it Up will feature four speakers on the intersection of disability and healthcare. Join us for a discussion of disability at every level- research, lived experience, local activism, and national awareness.

The Mix it Up series is hosted in partnership with the All of Us Research Program. Learn more about the All of Us Research Program here: Joinallofus.org/togetherDALLAS

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community” by Robert D. Putnam. Community members and Scholars will discuss the modern “loneliness epidemic” and the way that social capital influences health outcomes. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

The first installment of Mix it Up will feature our speaker, Dr. Cook, in a discussion of issues of intersectionality in medical research.

Dr. Stephanie Cook is a James Weldon Johnson Professor in the departments of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Biostatistics at New York University School of Public Health. She is also the Director of the Attachment and Health Disparities Research Lab (AHDL). Dr. Cook’s substantive methodological and statistical focus is in the development and application of longitudinal study designs (i.e., intensive longitudinal designs) for determining the ways in which dynamic changes in features of minority stress (e.g., daily and momentary discrimination events) are associated with changes in risk behaviors and physical health (e.g., substance use and pre-clinical cardiovascular disease) among racial/ethnic and/or sexual minority young adults. Dr. Cook’s overarching research focus is to understand how structural- and individual-level minority stressors contribute to mental health, physical health, and health behaviors across the lifespan in the virtual and physical worlds. Further, she seeks to understand how features of close relationships can exacerbate or buffer the negative effects of minority stress on health. Her work primarily focuses on young adults transitioning to adulthood who are at the intersection of racial/ethnic and sexual orientation status. In addition, much of her current work examines the links between minority stress (i.e., daily experiences of discrimination), biological markers of stress and disease (e.g., cortisol and C-reactive protein), and risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g., cardiometabolic health behaviors). Dr. Cook has won numerous awards for her research, service, and teaching including the Matilda White Riley Distinguished Early-Stage Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Emerging Scholar recognition from Diverse Magazine, and the AmStat News “Data for Good” Challenge in Human Rights Award.

The Mix it Up series is hosted in partnership with the All of Us Research Program. Learn more about the All of Us Research Program here: Joinallofus.org/togetherDALLAS

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Baby Making for Everybody: Family Building and Fertility for LGBTQ+ and Solo Parents” by Marea Goodman and Ray Rachlin. Community members and Scholars are invited to look more into the world of alternate family building and the role that healthcare plays. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “We'll Fight It Out Here: A History of the Ongoing Struggle for Health Equity” by David Chanoff and Louis W. Sullivan. We will discuss how a coalition of Black health professions schools made health equity a national issue, and the implications for our community as a whole. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

ATS, CV, and more, oh my! Job hunting in the LinkedIn era can feel overwhelming, but fortunately we’re here to help. Join us for a job preparation session on Zoom during lunch or dinner for accountability and expert advice.

ATS, CV, and more, oh my! Job hunting in the LinkedIn era can feel overwhelming, but fortunately we’re here to help. Join us for a job preparation session on Zoom during lunch or dinner for accountability and expert advice.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Atul Gawande. We will discuss death care, and the different elements within our modern society. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

The first installment of Mix it Up will feature Dr. Gabriel Benavidez, an epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health at Baylor University, as well as Ashley Bearden, MPH, the Executive Director of Waco AHEC.

Disease doesn’t impact every population equally. If COVID-19 demonstrated one thing, it’s that inequality shows up plainly in epidemiology, and that our conversations around public health need to expand. Join us for an intersectional look at the science of disease and the way it spreads. Questions are encourgaed, and attendees will get the opportunity to chat with our experienced public health professionals.

The Mix it Up series is hosted in partnership with the All of Us Research Program. Learn more about the All of Us Research Program here: Joinallofus.org/togetherDALLAS

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed” by Lori Gottlieb. We will discuss the intersection of therapy with the rest of the healthcare field, as well as personal experiences with mental health. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.

Register now for Rural Health Book Club on “Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke In the Richest Country On Earth” by Sarah Smarsh. More information on the Rural Health Book Club can be found by clicking here.