(4)(c)
CITY COMMISSION REGULAR MTG
- Meeting Date:
- 03/06/2024
- Title:
- Submitted By:
- Rhomari Leigh, City Secretary
- Department:
- City Secretary
Information
ACTION REQUEST
Certificate of Appreciation to Taking Our Best Shot (TOBS)
BACKGROUND (Brief Summary)
From Cheryl Lowen, Library Director
Taking Our Best Shot (TOBS), an initiative established by students from the University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine, has made substantial progress towards promoting public health. Initial contact was made between TOBS and MMPL through a It’s Time Texas conference that Jessica Matos, Assistant Director MMPL, and Vivian Tat, Co-Lead of TOBS, attended virtually in the summer of 2022. After the conference Vivian contacted our library to see what TOBS could do to help promote health literacy in our community. We decided to try out Taking Our Best Shot at Health Conversations. This would be a pilot testing program, hoping that if successful, TOBS could use these conversations at other locations throughout the county. TOBS has successfully secured grants, including an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Houston-Galveston and a Research!America microgrant, which facilitated the expansion of their seminars. Recently, they were awarded a mini-grant from the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship-Houston-Galveston to develop additional Health Conversations for the county.
The topics for these seminars were determined via a public survey conducted during winter 2022. The seminars held last year featured a range of topics, including Opioid Education and Naloxone Administration Training, Infectious Diseases and Immunizations, Coping with Anxiety in Daily Life, Fun in the Sun - Skin Cancer Prevention, Healthy Hearts Start Here - all about cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's Disease - airing out the brain's dirty laundry. These health conversations have garnered media attention, with multiple articles in the Galveston Daily News, contributing to the promotion of health literacy in the community. Vivian Tat, the current co-lead of TOBS, was recognized as one of Galveston County’s 40 under 40 in 2023.
TOBS has also participated in several local health fairs across the library, city, and county. Collaborating with students from Ball High School in Galveston, they created health literacy infographics, and are currently in talks with Texas City High School on STEAM Paths.
Taking Our Best Shot (TOBS), an initiative established by students from the University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine, has made substantial progress towards promoting public health. Initial contact was made between TOBS and MMPL through a It’s Time Texas conference that Jessica Matos, Assistant Director MMPL, and Vivian Tat, Co-Lead of TOBS, attended virtually in the summer of 2022. After the conference Vivian contacted our library to see what TOBS could do to help promote health literacy in our community. We decided to try out Taking Our Best Shot at Health Conversations. This would be a pilot testing program, hoping that if successful, TOBS could use these conversations at other locations throughout the county. TOBS has successfully secured grants, including an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Houston-Galveston and a Research!America microgrant, which facilitated the expansion of their seminars. Recently, they were awarded a mini-grant from the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship-Houston-Galveston to develop additional Health Conversations for the county.
The topics for these seminars were determined via a public survey conducted during winter 2022. The seminars held last year featured a range of topics, including Opioid Education and Naloxone Administration Training, Infectious Diseases and Immunizations, Coping with Anxiety in Daily Life, Fun in the Sun - Skin Cancer Prevention, Healthy Hearts Start Here - all about cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's Disease - airing out the brain's dirty laundry. These health conversations have garnered media attention, with multiple articles in the Galveston Daily News, contributing to the promotion of health literacy in the community. Vivian Tat, the current co-lead of TOBS, was recognized as one of Galveston County’s 40 under 40 in 2023.
TOBS has also participated in several local health fairs across the library, city, and county. Collaborating with students from Ball High School in Galveston, they created health literacy infographics, and are currently in talks with Texas City High School on STEAM Paths.