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Texas A&M’s Healthy South Texas Diabetes Education Program is now working in partnership with South Texas College to establish a diabetes education pilot program that will be open to the community.
STC and A&M representatives gathered at the college’s Starr County campus in Rio Grande City on Wednesday to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the program’s opening.
Thanks to the program, residents can now take classes such as disease management — to be provided by clinical staff — in addition to a medication assistance program and food education.
Participants can also participate in a physical activity program that will be hosted in the renovated library facility located at the STC Starr County campus.
The new program will not only help educate community members but will also help create a healthier region.
According to an STC news release Wednesday, Starr County is among the unhealthiest counties in Texas with adult obesity at 47%. The release continued to state that more than 21% of adults in the county live with a diabetes diagnosis totaling about 9% higher than the state average.
In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported data showing that a Hispanic adult has more than a 50% chance of developing type 2 diabetes and is likely to develop it at a younger age.
Census data shows that of the 1,368,723 residents in the Rio Grande Valley, 94.27% is Hispanic. The Valley community has long struggled with comorbidities with many residents also suffering from diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
