Pediatric Border Health Track (BHT)

The Border Health Track (BHT) is aimed to develop and train leaders and innovators in pediatrics and to give them the tools needed to advocate for the border community.

Leadership, Innovation, and Advocacy.

  • El Paso is uniquely situated on the U.S./Mexico border and with Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua, has an estimated combined population close to 2.6 million people. There is a fence along the Texas and Mexico border but when it comes to health care there are no boundaries for our patients. Many travel between both countries to receive medical care.
  • El Paso is the largest bi-national community in the world and has one of the longest physician wait times in the U.S. along with a physician patient ratio equal to Panama and other underserved countries.
  • A quarter of El Pasoans live below poverty compared to 14% in the United States.
  • El Paso county is home to 329 colonias which are settlements with self built homes that do not meet building codes and have limited infrastructure including lack of sewer, water, and electricity.
  • El Paso’s uninsured rate is three times the national average.
  • The community need index ranks El Paso poorly at 4.4 on a 5 point scale, with 5 representing the highest level of need. 82% of El Paso residents are of Hispanic ethnicity and of these 30% experience linguistic isolation. All of these factors create tremendous barriers to health care and medical home access, provider communications, and health literacy and education.

Our unique border health track is designed to train physicians to be advocates, leaders, and innovators for the border, underserved, and immigrant population.

The training program is integrated into the general pediatrics residency program to include all the required components of general pediatrics training.

In addition, BHT residents will have opportunities to be immersed in the border community.

The exposure provides the resident with:

  • An understanding of the history and culture of the border community
  • Recognizing common barriers to health
  • An opportunity to practice critical thinking and problem solving when encountering barriers to care
  • Experiences in the community during the rotation to developing a presentation to share with colleagues about these experiences

Society, community, and Individual Medical Student Course

The medical school has developed an immersion course, which will incorporate into an experience that will teach on the subject of social determinants of health and community assessments

Faculty Meetings

Meeting with faculty to discuss experiences on the border and learn about specific topics such as complementary and alternative medicine, working in the colonias, navigating the system, infectious diseases, and nutritional issues

Community Meetings

Meeting with businesses, non-profits, church leaders, politicians, and community advocates to further understand the challenges within a border community and know the resources available

Health Care Facilities

Visit multiple facilities that provide care to the underserved community on the border. The goal is to understand the limitations for patients without insurances or benefits

Quarterly Conferences

Faculty will engage the residents in educational experiences focused on leadership, advocacy, and scholarly activities.

How to Apply

After matching to our pediatric program all incoming residents will be sent an application for the BHT. Interested applicants will return the application to be considered for the program.

Contact Us

Please send us an email with any questions you may have about the Border Health Track: elpborderhealthtrack@ttuhsc.edu

Border Health Track Director

Lisa Ayoub-Rodriguez, M.D., FAAP