Reflecting on Texas: Lessons, Community, & More
Sarah Brandstadt
1st Year MPH Epidemiology Student
Wow, I can’t believe our time in Texas has already come to an end! We accomplished so much in such a short time, and I am truly grateful to have been a part of this experience! We collected surveys, facilitated focus groups, led a nutrition activity, and carried out a neighborhood scan. I am so thankful for all the people I met during the week including the community members and South-Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC) for providing us with a space to conduct our work and sharing their resources with us!
As I reflect on this trip, one experience that stands out is the focus group that I got to be a part of. We had 11 members from the westside of San Antonio join us to discuss community health needs and learn more about their perspectives. We had people who have lived in San Antonio their whole life, along with people who moved there after retirement. One of the themes that kept coming up was how much healthcare has changed over the years. It was mentioned multiple times that people used to be able to go to a nearby health clinic and quickly receive the care they need. Now, despite all the health facilities popping up around town, it is significantly harder to access the care they need. Some reasons for this included clinics not taking their insurance and long wait times. Despite all the challenges brought up throughout the focus group, I couldn’t help but notice how most people still had positive comments to say about San Antonio. I could feel how much the people truly cared about their city and the people that lived there. The community members were always sharing ideas and helping each other out.
After spending the week down in Texas, I not only learned a lot about the community, but also about myself. This experience reignited my passion for community-based work and reminded me of why I chose public health to ensure that community voices are at the center of creating change.