Texas Health Institute

High-Quality Primary Care: A Path to Healthy Communities
2025-04-09 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
Primary care is essential for a healthy community. Primary care teams manage chronic conditions, help prevent diseases, and detect health issues early when they’re easier to treat. Panelists will highlight the components of high-quality primary care and its contribution to improved health outcomes at a lower cost. Discover how high-quality primary care serves as the cornerstone of healthier individuals and thriving communities.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the connection between high-quality primary care and healthy communities.
2. Explore initiatives that cultivate healthier communities by prioritizing high-quality primary care.
3. Learn about TPCC’s policy priorities to advance high-quality primary care during Texas’ 89th legislative session.
This webinar is produced by the Texas Primary Care Consortium with support from Episcopal Health Foundation, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Texas Association of Health Plans, TMF Health Quality Institute, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.

Speakers

Helen Kent Davis
‍‍Senior Associate, Health Policy, Texas Health Institute
‍Webinar Facilitator

Helen Kent Davis is the founder and principal of HKD and Associates, a health care consultancy providing policy analysis and strategy to help clients promote more accessible, equitable, and cost-effective health care. Among the issues on which she has expertise are Medicaid and the state’s health care safety net, public and private health care coverage, primary care, rural health, and women’s, perinatal, and children’s health. Prior to founding her own firm, Kent Davis worked at the Texas Medical Association for more than 30 years, most recently as the associate vice president of governmental affairs. At TMA, she earned a trusted reputation for her expertise, savvy understanding of Texas’ policy-making process and ability to develop effective partnerships, working together to improve health care delivery and outcomes. Away from work, she loves spending time with her husband, son and two dogs as well as swimming at Barton Springs, gardening and traveling.

‍Kimberly Avila Edwards, MD, MSHCT, FAAP
Associate Chair of Advocacy, Department of Pediatrics, UT Dell Medical School

‍Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Family Medicine Physician, Briggs Family Medicine, PLLC
Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, FAAFP is a Board-Certified Family Medicine physician in New Braunfels, TX, since 2009. She provides full-scope family medicine services, including operative obstetrics. Dr. Briggs received her medical degree in Family Medicine as well as a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Texas at Houston HSC. She has a longstanding history of actively serving with the AAFP, TAFP, AMA, and TMA. Currently she serves as Delegate for the American Academy of Family Physicians to the AMA, Delegate to the TMA House of Delegates for the LGBTQ Health Section, and recently completed her service as President then Board Chair of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. She remains a tireless advocate for women’s health issues and underserved and marginalized populations. Dr. Briggs remains active in her local community, including implementing a teen health summit. She is the TMA 2021 Young at Heart Award recipient and was recently awarded an honorary fellowship by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Briggs enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters, exercising, and creating music in her spare time.

Texas Health Policy Forum
2024-12-05 09:00 - 16:00
We are proud of the many strengths that make Texas a desirable place to live, work, and play. However, the state of health and healthcare in Texas is in critical condition. The Commonwealth Fund ranked Texas as 48th in the nation on state health system performance and America’s Health Rankings measured Texas as 39th on overall health rankings.
Join us for the Texas Health Policy Forum to connect and create change for the state of health and healthcare in Texas! At the forum, thought leaders from diverse backgrounds will identify common goals, share perspectives, and foster alignment on recommendations to address the state’s pressing health challenges. Together, we will advance broadly shared policy priorities related to population health, access to care, and payment reform to be addressed during the 89th legislative session.
In a state as socioeconomically, culturally, and politically diverse as Texas, solving big problems requires meaningful dialogue and collaboration.

Shaping the Future of Primary Care: Policy Impacts
2024-11-13 11:00 - 12:00
Primary care impacts everyone and understanding the role policy plays within the healthcare system is essential. With a focus on accessibility, affordability, and quality of care, this webinar will explore how lawmakers’ emerging legislative priorities and political shifts may impact primary care. Join us for a discussion on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the current landscape of how health policies affect primary care
2. Identify opportunities to help improve primary care through policy
3. Offer insights on how state and federal election outcomes will impact primary care

This webinar is produced by the Texas Primary Care Consortium with support from Episcopal Health Foundation, St. David’s Foundation, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Texas Association of Health Plans, TMF Health Quality Institute, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.

Speakers

Helen Kent Davis
‍‍Senior Associate, Health Policy, Texas Health Institute
Helen Kent Davis is the founder and principal of HKD and Associates, a health care consultancy providing policy analysis and strategy to help clients promote more accessible, equitable, and cost-effective health care. Among the issues on which she has expertise are Medicaid and the state’s health care safety net, public and private health care coverage, primary care, rural health, and women’s, perinatal, and children’s health. Prior to founding her own firm, Kent Davis worked at the Texas Medical Association for more than 30 years, most recently as the associate vice president of governmental affairs. At TMA, she earned a trusted reputation for her expertise, savvy understanding of Texas’ policy-making process and ability to develop effective partnerships, working together to improve health care delivery and outcomes. Away from work, she loves spending time with her husband, son and two dogs as well as swimming at Barton Springs, gardening and traveling.

‍Larry D. Gonzales, MPA, CPM
Legislative Consultant, Texas Primary Care Consortium‍
The Honorable Larry Gonzales served in the Texas Legislature from 2011-2018 and has been instrumental in helping national leaders craft public policy. Rep. Gonzales served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee three times, twice serving as Subcommittee Chairman appropriating funds for forty-two state agencies. Chairman Gonzales was twice appointed to serve on the budget conference committee, one of only five House members to write the final version of the 2016- 2017 and 2018-2019 state budgets. In 2017, he founded Desk 138, LLC, a public affairs and business development company specializing in issue advocacy and business strategic planning. Desk 138 works to cultivate partnerships and other commercial relationships, as well as identify new markets for products or services.

‍Tom Banning
CEO & EVP, Texas Academy of Family Physicians
Webinar Facilitator
Tom Banning is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. In that capacity, he directs overall strategic and legislative strategy, grass roots, political action, continuing medical education, membership and communications activities for the largest specialty society in Texas, with more than 9,000 members. Tom has helped Texas family physicians realize the power of political involvement and grassroots that has resulted in the passage of key legislation including long sought, comprehensive tort reform, landmark patient protection and managed care laws, and numerous public health initiatives.

Exploring Health Innovations in Rural Texas
2024-08-27 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for an insightful webinar as we delve into the unique landscape of health in rural Texas. In 2021, 3 million Texans lived in rural areas, more than in any other state in the country. Rural Texans tend to be older and are at a greater risk of facing poor health outcomes. Residents in rural areas face unique health disparities rooted in economic, social, racial, ethnic, and geographic factors. Compounding this, rural Texas residents can face significant challenges accessing preventive, acute, maternity, and chronic care services. In this webinar, we will bring together experts to shed light on the issues affecting rural health in Texas and examine the innovative solutions that are advancing health care access and outcomes for rural Texans.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the current landscape of health in rural Texas
2. Learn about real-world examples that demonstrate successful innovations in health care access in rural Texas
3. Discuss long-term strategies that will benefit rural Texans
This webinar is produced by the Texas Primary Care Consortium with support from Episcopal Health Foundation, St. David’s Foundation, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Texas Association of Health Plans, TMF Health Quality Institute, and UnitedHealthcare.

Speakers

Adrian Billings, MD, PhD, FAAFP
Chief Medical Officer, Preventative Care Health Services FQHC
Dr. Adrian Billings, of Alpine, is the Chief Medical Officer of Preventative Care Health Services FQHC in the Big Bend, the Associate Academic Dean of Rural and Community Engagement and Senior Fellow of the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Billings has been a career long rural community physician along the rural Texas-Mexico border of west Texas. Dr. Billings serves as an elected school board trustee for rural Alpine Independent School District, serves as an officer in the Texas Academy of Family Physicians and is on the Board of the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved. Dr. Billings is passionate about enabling rural borne and educated students opportunities to enroll in health care training programs.

Kia Parsi, MD
Executive Director, A&M Rural & Community Health Institute
Dr. Parsi serves as the Executive Director for the Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute and as Associate Professor and Executive Director for the Texas A&M School of Medicine Rural Program. He has over 25 years of experience working as a rural physician in various models such as RHCs, FQHCs, and fee-for-service clinics, hospital care, long-term care, and hospice care. In addition, Dr. Parsi has extensive executive and physician leadership experience, working for over 6 years as the CMO and interim CEO for an integrated health care system that included 3 Critical Access Hospitals, 2 acute care hospitals, 2 nursing homes, and over 30 ambulatory clinics. Due to this breadth of experience, Dr. Parsi has the unique perspective of being involved as an administrator representing a rural health care institution as well as negotiating on the behalf of a larger health care organization.

‍Ankit Sanghavi, MPH, BDS
Executive Director, Texas Health Institute
Ankit is the Executive Director of Texas Health Institute and Co-Lead of Texas Primary Care Consortium. Previously, he served as the Director of Community and Oral Health Program at THI. Ankit provides leadership and direction on all Texas Health Institute initiatives and develops collaborative efforts with its local, state, and national partners. Ankit earned a Master of Public Health from Texas A&M University in 2014 and Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences India in 2011. His professional interests are research, innovation, and data in public health and healthcare.

Advancing Firearm Safety and Injury Prevention
2024-03-06 13:30 - 14:30
Firearm safety is a critical public health issue. In 2021, there were 4,613 firearm deaths in Texas, and more than half of the deaths were due to suicide. Firearms are now a leading cause of death among children and teens in Texas. Rates of homicides by firearms have also increased in Texas. This webinar will explore the integration of firearm safety into primary care settings and highlight the role of healthcare professionals in promoting safe firearm practices. Effective firearm safety interventions require a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach that engages primary care providers, patients, and community leaders.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the factors that contribute to firearm injuries in Texas
2. Learn about real-world examples that demonstrate successful integration of firearm safety into clinical practice
3. Discuss prevention and community-level strategies in firearm injury prevention
This webinar is produced by the Texas Primary Care Consortium with support from Episcopal Health Foundation, St. David’s Foundation, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, and TMF Health Quality Institute.

Speakers

Sue Bornstein, MD, MACP
Co-Lead, Texas Primary Care Consortium
A resident of Dallas, Dr. Sue Bornstein is the executive director of the Texas Medical Home Initiative and co-lead of the Texas Primary Care Consortium – a statewide collaborative whose mission is to advance accessible, continuous and coordinated person-centered care for all Texans.Bornstein is the Chair-elect of the American College of Physicians (ACP) representing internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. The Board of Regents is the main policy-making body for the College. She is currently chair of ACP’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and previously served as chair of ACP’s Health and Public Policy Committee and as Governor of the Texas Northern Chapter of ACP. She has been a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) since 2003 and a Master of the American College of Physicians (MACP) since 2022. Bornstein also received the 2021 Primary Care Collaborative Primary Care Community Leadership/Research Award.She received her medical degree from Texas Tech School of Medicine and completed her residency at the Baylor University Medical Center. Some areas of professional interest and expertise for Bornstein include health and public policy, health care access and reform, strengthening the safety net and government relations.

Daniel D. Guzman, MD
Attending Physician – Emergency Department | Program Director, Firearm Safety Awareness Program·Cook Children’s Medical Center
Dr. Daniel Guzman is a pediatric emergency physician at Cook Children’s Medical Center and has been on staff since 2003. In 2017, he started Aim for Safety, a firearm awareness program focused on educating both children and parents on the dangers of having an unsecured and loaded firearm in the home. His goal is to reduce the number of unintentional firearm injuries seen in children that present to the emergency department and to encourage the use of firearm safety devices. Dr. Guzman is passionate about injury prevention and currently holds the position of medical director with The Center for Children’s Health as an advocate for educating the community about all injury prevention topics.Dr. Guzman is also medical director for Cook Children’s transport team, Teddy Bear Transport, and provides day-to-day direction and education for the staff. Currently, Dr. Guzman serves on multiple committees at Cook including the hospital quality improvement committee, the trauma improvement committee as Associate Director of ED Trauma services, as well as liaison for the surgical clinical excellence committee. He is an executive member and secretary of the Emergency Physicians Advisory Board that provides medical direction to MEDSTAR and surrounding EMS agencies. He also serves as co-medical director for the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council providing direction and development of protocols for the hospitals in the region. He currently provides education and training for medical students from both TCU School of Medicine and the UNT Health Science Center. Currently, Dr. Guzman is conducting research on how to improve firearm safety practices in the home. In his free time, he trains with his wife for marathons.

Emmy Betz, MD, MPH
Professor of Emergency Management & Founding Director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative·University of Colorado School of Medicine
Dr. Emmy Betz, MD, MPH, is an emergency physician and nationally recognized leader in firearm injury prevention and suicide prevention. She is currently a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where she is the Founding Director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative. She oversees a multi-million dollar research portfolio of complex, community-engaged, mixed-methods studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense. Dr. Betz is a recognized national expert in firearm injury prevention and has been invited to work with numerous organizations spanning the civilian to veteran spectrum. Examples include medical organizations (American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons), the American Bar Association, multiple VA workgroups, the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Office, and White House events or initiatives under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. In 2023 she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.‍

Advancing Oral Health Equity in Texas: A Community-Driven Approach
2024-02-28 11:00 - 12:00
Oral health and overall health are intrinsically connected and when everyone has the opportunities they need, free from barriers, to pursue their best oral health, we see healthier communities. Our roadmap for oral health equity in Texas made community voice the driving force of the project. We contextualized disparities with community-led focus groups, interviews of state-level leaders in oral health, and a policy analysis of relevant legislative trends. Building on Texas Health Institute’s expertise in equity-focused research and systemic efforts to reduce oral health disparities, in this webinar we will share context and findings from our research and provide strategies to advance oral health equity at the community and state-level. Advancing oral health equity advances the health of all.

Speakers

Natalia Chalmers, DDS, MHSc, PhD
Chief Dental Officer·U.S. Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

As the Chief Dental Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Dr. Chalmers leads the development and implementation of oral health policy and innovation for over 160 million Americans. With more than 20 years of work experience in dentistry, public health, and clinical research, she brings a unique and diverse perspective to the CMS team. Dr. Chalmers has a Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Research from Duke University, a PhD in Oral Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Maryland, and a DDS from the Medical University of Sofia. She also holds a certificate in Drug Development and Regulatory Sciences from the University of California, San Francisco. I have multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals on topics such as opioid prescribing, emergency department use, and preventive dental services for Medicaid populations. She is passionate about improving access, quality, and outcomes of oral health care for all Americans, especially the underserved and vulnerable groups. She is also committed to advancing evidence-based practice, data-driven decision making, and stakeholder engagement in the oral health field.

Ankit Sanghavi, MPH, BDS
Executive Director

Ankit Sanghavi currently serves as the executive director of Texas Health Institute. Previously, he served as the director of community and oral health program at THI. Sanghavi provides leadership and direction on all Texas Health Institute initiatives and develops collaborative efforts with its local, state, and national partners. He earned a Master of Public Health from Texas A&M University in 2014 and Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences India in 2011. His professional interests are research, innovation, and data in public health and health care.

Blair Williams, MPA, MBA, CPH
Director of Health Equity Research and Innovation

Blair Williams is a skilled public health professional dedicated to advancing positive health equity through data-driven translational research, innovation, multisector collaboration, and policy. She has 15 years of experience in public health with a multi-disciplinary educational background in health care administration, public health, research, business, and policy. As director of health equity research and innovation, Williams leads several health equity projects at the national, state, and local levels. She oversees national, multi-year big data health equity projects for America’s Health Rankings (AHR) and serves as a strategic thought partner on the AHR platform modernization and data equity efforts. In her current and past roles, she led the methodology, data collection, analysis, and dissemination of organizational assessments, community health needs assessments, community-led research, and policy assessments. As a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health studying health equity and social justice, Williams is conducting research on child wellbeing and building capacity for state agencies to implement models to advance child health. She received her MBA from Baylor University and her MPA from Upper Iowa University. She also serves as an advisor for a multitude of national agencies, including the American Journal of Public Health and the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. Her professional interests include innovative approaches to improve equitable access to patient-centered care and diversity in the public health workforce.
