Rural Advancement through Integrated Community Education and Health Science program launches

The Center for Rural Health in South Texas (CRHeST) and the Kate Marmion School of Public Health at UT San Antonio are proud to announce the launch of RAÍCES (Rural Advancement through Integrated Community Education and Health Science), a new community health initiative funded by a grant from the  Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and led by Kate Marmion School of Public Health dean Vasan Ramachandran, MD.

RAÍCES, which means “roots” in Spanish, reflects the project’s mission: growing lasting, community-rooted health infrastructure in two of Texas’s most medically underserved counties. Over the next two years, the initiative will bring bilingual and tailored health programming directly to rural adults in Uvalde and Frio counties, addressing three of the most pressing health burdens facing the region: diabetes and cardiometabolic disease, cancer screening and survivorship, and cognitive health.

Uvalde and Frio counties are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas and Medically Underserved Areas, where rural residents face some of the highest chronic disease burdens in Texas and need tailored programs built specifically for these areas.

RAÍCES will accomplish this goal through five coordinated program areas targeting chronic diseases that co-occur and cluster in individuals and families:

1. Diabetes & Cardiometabolic Self-Management – a bilingual education program helping rural adults with diabetes, prediabetes, or related risk factors build lasting self-management skills to control their blood sugar levels.
2. Cancer Screening Navigation – trained bilingual Community Health Worker navigators connecting rural adults who are overdue for breast, cervical, or colorectal cancer screening to the care they need.
3. Cancer Survivorship Support – a bilingual educational program supporting rural cancer survivors through the emotional, financial, and other practical challenges that follow treatment.
4. Cognitive Health & Caregiver Education – community-based cognitive screening for older rural adults, paired with bilingual education for family caregivers supporting a loved one with dementia or memory loss.
5. Partnership & Workforce Development – building lasting regional partnerships and a workforce rooted in the rural communities they serve.

RAÍCES is a coordinated regional partnership that brings together CRHeST, Southwest Texas College, the South Central and Southwest Border Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), regional Federally Qualified Health Centers, and local rural hospital partners, each contributing what they do best to bring this educational program to life! 

The School of Public Health appreciates all of its partners and the THECB for funding this opportunity. RAÍCES runs from August 2026 through July 2028.