The Medicaid Waiver Program assists the underserved community with access to preventive health services to improve health and overall well-being. The program provides vaccinations, cancer screenings, adolescent dental care, teen health education, and other preventive services. To serve the community, the program also collaborates with local organizations, universities and other healthcare providers by participating in outreach events to reach its targeted population.

SERVICES

Vaccination Services

• Children 0-18 Years who are uninsured or Medicaid recipients
• Adults 19 years and older who are uninsured or Medicaid recipients

Cancer Screening Services

• Mammogram
  Women 50-74 years old
• Pap Smear
  Women 21-64 years old
• Colorectal Cancer Screening
  Men & Women 50-75 Years old

Dental Checkups at Rawlings Pediatric Dental Clinic and Mobile Dental Unit

• Persons 21 and younger.

Glucose, Body Mass Index, and Blood Pressure Checks

• Throughout the year, the program and its partners host several outreach events to educate and provide eligible children and adults in the community with access to free health screenings including body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose screenings.

Teen Health Referrals

• The Teen Health Initiative ensures that teens 13-19 years old are up-to-date on their vaccinations. In addition to this, teens obtain general knowledge on topics related to mental and physical health. Lastly, pregnant teens also receive the necessary information to establish a medical home. Thus by establishing a medical home, teens can gain early access to prenatal care to reduce the number of pregnancy related complications.

Health Education

• Health Education services include the promotion and provision of opportunities to encourage, develop, and sustain healthy lifestyles with a focus on tobacco use prevention, physical activity, diabetes care and mental health referrals.

Mental Health Resources

The Department of Public Health encourages individuals to make their mental health a priority. The Medicaid Waiver program has trained staff to provide mental health resources to the community that include:

• Treatment referrals
• Information about local mental health agencies
• Educational material

Use our interactive map to find a mental health treatment near you.

For more information about these services, please call (915) 212-6606.

Flyers

• Free Vaccine »
• Free Mammogram »
• You Deserve To Be Healthy »
• Fight Preventable Diseases »
• Combate Enfermedables Prevenibles »

Program And Partner Publications

• Access to Healthcare and Outcomes along the U.S. Mexico Border For For the 21 st Annual Conference of the National Hispanic Medical Association
  Authors:  Isabel Latz, MSc Health Sciences
  Affiliation: The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Presentation
• Evidence-Based Screening in Low-Income El Paso Households
  Authors:  Juan Aguilera MD, MPH & Karen Del Rio A.S.
  Affiliation: The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Presentation
• Return on Investment Calculator to Assess Cancer Screening Measures of a Border Health Initiative
  Authors:  Claudia Lozano, MPH, CHES; Elizabeth Cereceres, BA
  Affiliation: City of El Paso Department of Public Health – Medicaid Waiver Program
  Type: Poster
• Health department partnership with local universities successfully provides preventive health services for a border population
  Authors:  Ivonne Marquez, BS, CHES; Karen Del Rio, BS, Denise Vazquez, MPH, Juan Aguilera MD, MPH
  Affiliation: City of El Paso’s Department of Public;University of Texas at El Paso; University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston- School of Public Health – El Paso Campus
  Type: Poster
• Onsite Immunization Clinics at Strategically Identified Locations: A Collaborative Approach to Reach and Capture Underserved Populations within El Paso, Texas
  Authors: Modinat Lawal, MPH; Jessica Corral, RN, BSN; Claudia Lozano, MPH, CHES
  Affiliation: City of El Paso Department of Public Health- Medicaid Waiver and Immunization Departments
  Type: Presentation
• The Collaborative Efforts of two Local Health Department Programs to Advance Patient (Population) Health
  Authors:  Modinat Lawal, MPH; Ivonne Ugarte, BS
  Affiliation: City of El Paso Department of Public Health- Medicaid Waiver Program
  Type: Presentation
• Medicaid Waiver Application A Health Record Management System 
  Authors: Palacio Jacob, BS
  Affiliation: City of El Paso Department of Public Health- Medicaid Waiver Program
  Type: Presentation
• Assessing the Impact of a Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver Program on Cancer Screening and Vaccination Rates among the Medicaid, Low-Income, and Uninsured Population of the City of El Paso and surrounding U.S./Mexico Border Region
  Authors:  Claudia Lozano, MPH, CHES; Rosemary Hash, MPH; Rosie Orozco; Laura Perez
  Affiliation: City of El Paso Department of Public Health – Medicaid Waiver Program
  Type: Poster
• Neighborhood Fire Stations Serve as Venues for Preventive Health Services: An Innovative Partnership Between Health and Fire Departments
  Authors: Ivonne Marquez, BS, CHES; Claudia Lozano, MPH, CHES
  Affiliation: City of El Paso Department of Public Health – Medicaid Waiver Program
  Type: Poster

• The Implementation of Mobile and Clinic-based Strategies to Aid the Increase of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Rate in El Paso County, Texas for Adolescents
  Author:  Monica Leal, MPA, CHES
  Affiliation: City of El Paso Department of Public Health – Medicaid Waiver Program
  Type: Poster

• Using a Reasoned Action Approach to Predict organized Exercise in Hispanics: Preliminary Findings
  Authors: Mariana Arevalo, MPH; Louis D. Brown, PhD
  Affiliation: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health
  Type: Poster

• Evaluation of Healthy Fit: A Community Health Worker Model to Address Hispanic Health Disparities
  Authors:  Louis D. Brown, PhD; Denise Vasquez, MPH; Jennifer J. Salinas, PhD; Xiaohui Tang, MS; Hector Balcázar, PhD
  Affiliation: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, El Paso, Texas. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, El Paso, Texas. Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California.
  Type: Article

• Promoting Hispanic Health Via Community Health Workers and Motivational Interviewing
  Authors:   Erin M. Portillo; Denise Vasquez, MPH; Louis D. Brown, PhD
  Affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso; School of Public Health in El Paso, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  Type: Poster

• Identifying risk and protective factors for heart health among Hispanics in the Texas-Mexico border
  Authors:  Lauren Chacon; Louis D. Brown, Ph.D.
  Affiliation:  The University of Texas at El Paso, School of Public Health in El Paso, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  Type: Poster

• Acculturation effects on Body Mass Index and Body Fat Percentage
  Authors:  Luis Alberto Magallanes; Louis D. Brown, Ph.D.; Denise Vasquez, MPH
  Affiliation:  School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UT Health) Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Poster

• ATLAS Diffusion in the Acceptance of Influenza Vaccination
  Authors:  Jesus A. Cardenas; Leopoldo Gemoets; Michael L. Gonzales
  Affiliation:  The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Article

• Causes of Mortality by Ethnicity and Gender in the USA: An advanced Comparative Analysis
  Authors:  Jesus A. Cardenas; Leopoldo Gemoets
  Affiliation:  The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Article

• Can a Glucose-Based Hydrogen and Methane Breath Test Detect Bacterial Overgrowth in the Jejunum?
  Authors:  Olof H. Sundin, PhD; Antonio Mendoza-Ladd, MD; Elisa Morales, MS; B. Matthew Fagan, MS; Mingtao Zeng, PhD; Diana Diaz-Arévalo, PhD; Javier Ordonez, MS; Richard W. McCallum, MD
  Affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Biostatistics Unit, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso
  Type: Article

• Profiling Oral Bacteria by Next Generation DNA Sequencing
  Authors:  Olof H. Sundin, Ph.D.; Elisa Morales, MS
  Affiliation:  Department of Biomedical Sciences Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso
  Type: Presentation

• Prevalence of Risk Factors for Metabolic Syndrome in Uninsured Hispanic Adults from Low Income Communities in El Paso, Texas
  Authors:  Juan Aguilera MD, MPH; Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia MD, PhD; Alisha Redelfs DrPH; Leah Whigham PhD, FTOS
  Affiliation:  University of Texas at El Paso, Paso del Norte Institute for Healthy Living
  Type: Poster

• Associations between SES factors, nativity, acculturation and health outcomes and access to healthcare among two Hispanic samples in the U.S.-Mexico border region [In preparation]
  Authors:  I. Latz;  Juan Aguilera MD, MPH; M. Lusk; Joao Ferreira-Pinto PhD
  Affiliation:  The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Article

• The Human jejunum has an endogenous microbiota that differs from this in the oral cavity and colon
  Authors:  Olof H. Sundin; Antonio Mendoza-Ladd; Mingtao Zeng; Diana Diaz-Arévalo; Elisa Morales, MS; B. Matthew Fagan; Javier Ordoñez; Philip Velez; Nishaal Antony; Richard W. McCallum
  Affiliation:  Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso
  Type: Article

• High prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in Hispanic population without health insurance
  Authors:  Karen Del Rio, BS; Juan Aguilera MD, MPH; Leah D. Whigham PhD, FTOS; Joao Ferreira-Pinto PhD
  Affiliation:  The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Poster

• Evidence Based Screenings for Cardiorespiratory Health Outcomes in Low Income Communities from El Paso Texas
  Authors:  Juan Aguilera MD, MPH; Karen Del Rio, BS
  Affiliation:  The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Presentation

• Prevalence of Obesity and Risk Factors for Metabolic Syndrome among Uninsured College Hispanic Students in El Paso Texas
  Authors:  Karen Del Rio, BS; Juan Aguilera MD, MPH; Leah D. Whigham PhD, FTOS; Joao Ferreira-Pinto PhD
  Affiliation:  The University of Texas at El Paso
  Type: Poster