The University of Texas System Valley/Border Health Services Task Force was established in 1988 by the University of Texas System in conjunction with several other schools (University of Texas Heath Science Center at San Antonio and University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston among them) and community organizations to inventory existing health programs in the Rio Grande Valley/border region and use this information to improve health professional education, health services, and research activities in the area. The work continues today in the form of the Texas-Mexico Border Health Coordination Office.
Similarly, the Acres Homes Project (1996-2005) was a joint effort among several community organizations and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to study and improve community health in the Acres Homes neighborhood on Houston’s northwest side. A committee was assembled to assess the demographics, existing services, and needs of the community, and staff and students of UTHSCH were responsible for the technical aspects of the analysis.