The Battalion
STATE & LOCAL
Wednesday, June 6,1990
Project trains
health experts
in three years
HARLINGEN (AP) — A
$4.4 million project over three years
to train doctors, nurses and other
health professionals in the Lower
Rio Grande Valley will be aimed at
curing the area’s severe shortage of
medical personnel, officials said.
More than 200 medical, dental,
nursing and allied health students
will complete a portion of their clini
cal training each year through the
Area Health Education Center
(AHEC) program.
The project, coordinated by the
University of Texas Health Science
Center at San Antonio, will bring the
students to an area in dire need of
medical workers.
Organizers are hoping that some
of the students will choose to work in
the Valley after they finish their
training.
“The Valley encompasses the two
most poverty-stricken counties in the
United States,” said Dr. Adela Val
dez, director of South Texas Hospi
tal in Harlingen and an organizer of
the AHEC project. “Therefore it is
difficult to recruit and retain physi
cians, dentists, nurses and other
health care providers. The AHEC
can be beneficial not only in retain
ing our health professionals, but in
recruiting new personnel into the
Valley as well.”
According to the Texas Depart
ment of Health, in 1987 there were
762 residents per physician in
Texas, but in the Valley doctors
were much less available. In Cam
eron County, the resident-physician
ratio was 1,022 to 1; in Hidalgo
County, 1,373 to 1; in Willacy
County, 2,755 to 1; and in Starr
County, 3,554 to 1.
In 1986, there were 2,131 resi
dents for every dentist in Texas, but
4,176 to 1 in Cameron County,
5,431 to 1 in Hidalgo County, 9,620
to 1 in Willacy County and 34,740 to
1 in Starr County.
Dr. Giro Sumaya, AHEC program
director, said nursing shortages also
persist in the Valley with 916 resi
dents for every nurse in Cameron
County, for example, compared to
241 residents per nurse state wide,
according to a UTHSCSA news re
lease.
Sumaya, associate dean for
continuing medical education at
UTHSCSA, said similar programs
around the nation show that stu
dents who train in rural or under
served areas are more likely to re
turn after graduation.
The three-year partnership be
tween the San Antonio school and
dozens of health facilities at the
southern tip of the state is set to be
gin Oct. 1.
We asked and here’s what you said...
If you had the power to change one thing at Texas A&M, what would it be?
Julie Fleming
Senior — Marketing
Houston
Parking.
I would make sure the fresh
men wouldn’t have cars up here
because I don’t think they need
them. It would increase the avail
ability of parking on campus.
Juan Corta
Junior — Industrial Engineering
Costa Rica
Parking.
It would be parking because it’s
very crowded. There’s no park
ing at night at the library.
Alecia Biondi
Junior — Accounting
College Station
Parking.
The parking situation is terri
ble. They should use empty lots. I
really don’t know why the park
ing is so bad with all the available
space.
Jack Harris
Associate research economist
Houston
Parking and Construction.
I would probably cut down on
the traffic congestion and not
have quite so many torn up
streets.
Zhendong Yang
Ph.D. candidateGeology
China
Student Facilities.
I would put new student facili
ties on campus. The students
need more social activities and
places to grow. This way we can
promote culture and Aggie spirit.
Tim Comer
J unior — English
Magnolia, Ark.
Construction.
I would accelerate the con
struction on campus. It’s needed
but it’s inconvenient at best.
Dr. Prasad Enjeti
Associate professor — Electrical
Engineering
India
Parking.
Parking has become a major
problem here. If I want to go to
the library, it’s very difficult be
cause of the poor parking.
Melody Johnson
Graduate student — Education
Cleveland, Texas
Campus policies.
I would change some of the
policies on campus regarding stu
dent groups. Atheist groups are
allowed on campus but Christian
organizations can’t speak out as
much.
Susan Dennis
Assistant lecturer — Modern
Languages
Lubbock
Student attitudes.
I would like to see students in
volved in more important activ
ities like saving the economy and
not worrying about who’s a greek
or who’s not or what we should
do about various traditions.
Barbara Schwarz
Sophomore — Business
San Antonio
Buses.
I would change the on-campus
buses. They should run more of
ten to fit with students’ schedules.
We go out and try to catch a bus
and end up waiting and being late
for class.mare
Legislature passes fee and tax increases and budget cuts
AUSTIN (AP) — The Legislature moved
quickly Tuesday on a $528 million school fi
nance reform plan by easily passing the fee
and tax increases needed to pay for it — in
cluding a quarter-cent state sales tax in
crease.
were sent to the House for consideration.
Increases in the state sales tax, mixed drink
and tobacco levies, and some state fees were
passed by both the House and Senate and
sent to Gov. Bill Clements.
The legislative pace should allow law-
“f
1 am extremely happy because there is light at the end ot the
tunnel and it’s not a freight train this time.”
—Gib Lewis,
House Speaker
The Texas Senate also passed a separate
•ill outlining school finance reforms with a
!9-l vote, and a measure making budget
uts and state budget transfers with a 30-0
ote.
The reform and budget-cutting bills
makers to finish their record sixth special
session at the end of this week, said Clem
ents and other state leaders. This is the
fourth session on school finance reform.
“I am extremely happy because there is
light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a
freight train this time,” said House Speaker
Gib Lewis, D-Fort Worth.
Democratic legislative leaders and the
Republican governor agreed on the school
finance reform package Friday after a
three-month deadlock on how to address a
Texas Supreme Court order to make more
money available to poor school districts.
Besides pumping extra money into the
$13.5 billion-a-year school finance system,
the funding package would raise an extra
$100 million to bail out financially strapped
social service programs.
Clements killed two previous school fi
nance reform plans because they each re
quired a half-cent increase in the sales tax.
But he compromised at the quarter-cent
level Friday, saying he wanted to fend off
court intervention in the school system.
The House could take up the school fi
nance reform bill Wednesday, Lewis said.
Besides addressing funding, the reform
bill would make a number of changes de
signed to improve education performance
and accountability.
It would allow expahsion of the pre-kin
dergarten program to 3-year-olds in the
1991-92 school year, increase testing of stu
dents, and give the governor the authority
to appoint the state education commis
sioner. The commissioner now is appointed
by the State Board of Education.
The tax and fee measures would:
• Raise the sales tax to 614 cents on the
dollar.
• Raise the tax per pack of cigarettes by
15 cents, to 41 cents.
• Increase the tax rate on chewing to-
"bacco, snuff and. smoking tobacco from
28.125 percent to 35.213 percent of the fac
tory list price.
• Increase the gross receipts tax on the
sale of mixed drinks from 12 percent to 14
E ercent. This was the last item in the tax
ill, which was approved 117-23 by the
House and 30-0 by the Senate.
• Double the fee for obtaining a dupli
cate driver’s license from $5 to $10. This
vyas a separate bill, approved 117-20 by the
House and 30-0 by the Senate.
• Raise by 50 percent the state fees for
highway permits to move items that exceed
statutory size and weight limits. This was a
separate bill, approved on a 126-15 House
vote and 30-0 Senate vote.
Sen. Carlos Truan, D-Corpus Christi,
said he does not think the reform bill will
meet the Supreme Court order to design a
constitutional school Finance system.
But he voted for it, he said, because it
sends more money to school districts. Sen.
Hector Uribe, D-Brownsville, voted against
the reform bill.
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DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY
707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D
College Station, Texas 77840
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