habits mean Texans will live longer, bet- ter lives and incur fewer costs related to chronic illnesses associated with un- healthy behavior,” Senator Nelson said. TPHC’s obesity prevention recom- mendations support DSHS’ exceptional item request related to chronic disease prevention. The department is asking the leg-
islature for $8.57 million for 2014–15 to fund initiatives such as increasing tobacco prevention and cessation fund- ing for Quitline counseling services and expanding the department’s efforts to implement chronic disease reduction and prevention efforts in urban areas. DSHS exceptional items requests total about $352 million for the coming biennium. Mr. Romo adds the state and nation
are facing a critical time in regard to the obesity epidemic.
“Physicians, lawmakers, and public health officials need to make sure chil- dren have an opportunity to be active every day and parents are aware of what their children are eating and how it af- fects their health,” he said.
oxide and other air pollutants, endanger- ing the public’s health. The Texas Medi- cal Association, the Nueces County Med- ical Society (NCMS), and environmental organizations encouraged Las Brisas to invest in cleaner, more efficient energy alternatives. (See “Medicine Supports Clean Energy,” April 2012 Texas Medi- cine, page 21.)
In December 2008, Jeffrey Levin, MD, MSPH, then-chair of the TMA Council on Public Health, sent a letter on behalf of TMA to NCMS Executive Director Pau- lette Shaw.
In the letter, Dr. Levin outlined TMA’s clean air policy, which focuses on sup- porting the growth of renewable energy sources while reducing consumption and promoting the use of the latest technolo- gies and allocation of state resources to reduce air pollution.
“TMA policy supports the efforts of NCMS to encourage the use of cleaner technology available to minimize air pollution. On behalf of the Council on Public Health, I wish you much success in this effort,” he wrote. “Thank God for the EPA,” Corpus
Physicians help shelve controversial Corpus power plant
Bowing to opposition from physicians and environmental groups concerned about air pollution, Chase Power, the parent company of the Las Brisas Energy Center, suspended a $3 billion coke-fuel electricity project planned for Corpus Christi.
Chase Power Chief Executive Officer
Dave Freysinger issued a statement Jan. 23 that the company “has opted to sus- pend efforts to further permit the facil- ity and is seeking alternative investors as part of a plan of dissolution for the par- ent company.” He said market conditions and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory policies prompted the decision.
Opponents of the plant contended it would emit large amounts of carbon di-
50 TEXAS MEDICINE March 2013
Christi allergy and asthma specialist Wesley Stafford, MD, said in an email to other opponents of the plant. “Thank God for all the people whose work suc- ceeded in dragging out the permitting process until new regulations from the EPA came into effect which made it im- practical for them to continue to pursue the permits needed to build the facility. Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive of the efforts to block con- struction of this facility, which would have posed ridiculous risks to the health of hundreds of thousands of people.” Dr. Stafford, a member of the TMA Council on Science and Public Health, also thanked “those who fought hard and long,” the Nueces County Medical Society “who were willing to make us the first medical society in the State of Texas to make a stand against an indus- trial facility that would pollute the air and make people sick,” TMA “who sup- ported that stand,” and “everyone else who took part in the fight against these guys.” Dr. Stafford told Texas Medicine in the April 2012 story that backing by
TMA, NCMS, and environmental groups helped build awareness of the Las Brisas project and the detrimental health im- pact it could have on the area’s residents. Dr. Stafford said community physicians opposed the new plant in testimony to the Corpus Christi City Council and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
“TMA has many policies intended
to help reduce the potential impact of the environment on the health of Texas citizens. We need to continue to support Texas physicians when they identify en- vironmental factors that endanger pa- tients,” he said.
New Texas Women’s Health Program launches
On Dec. 31, a state district judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order in Planned Parenthood’s federal lawsuit against the state to stop the exclusion of their clinics from the Women’s Health Program (WHP). The decision cleared the way for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to launch the new Texas Women’s Health Program (TWHP) Jan. 1. On Jan. 11, Planned Parenthood re- ceived another blow when the court denied the organization’s request for a temporary injunction that would allow the organization to be included in the new state-funded TWHP. Gov. Rick Perry called the court de- cisions “great news for Texas women and further proves that Planned Par- enthood’s case attempting to derail the Texas Women’s Health Program lacks merit and is nothing more than a desper- ate move by an organization more con- cerned with obtaining taxpayer money than with helping women get care. With this ruling, our state can continue caring for Texas women.” The Texas Medical Association’s 2013 legislative agenda supports full funding for TWHP.
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