Texas Health Institute

05/21/2026

Join us for a webinar to explore how oral health intersects with maternal and behavioral health throughout pregnancy, and how care teams across disciplines can work together to deliver more connected, whole-person care.
Oral Health and the Perinatal Journey is the first session in our two-part webinar series with the Texas Primary Care Consortium, Texas Oral Health Coalition, and Rural Texas Maternal Health Assembly.
Register now: bit.ly/THI0526

05/19/2026

Together with local partners and communities, Texas Health Institute helps build stronger, healthier systems across the state.
Join our Healthy Texas Sustainers Circle today to help sustain us as the trusted, independent voice strengthening and coordinating Texas' health system.

By Texas Health Institute

05/11/2026

Blair Williams, DrPH, MPA, MBA, CPH, and Brianna Tofel, MPH, recently had the opportunity to share about our work at the National Network of Public Health Institutes 2026 Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA.

Blair presented “From Early Exposure to Economic Mobility: Advancing Opportunity in Health Workforce Pathways in Central Texas,” while Brianna facilitated the roundtable “From Delivery to Impact: Strengthening the Evaluation of PHIG Training & Technical Assistance.”

We’re honored to contribute to this national conversation and grateful to our partners for their collaboration in strengthening public health systems and building a healthier future for all.

05/08/2026

Improving maternal and infant health outcomes requires a whole-person, team-based approach to perinatal care that extends beyond the delivery room. In Texas, particularly in rural and underserved communities, pregnant and postpartum individuals often navigate fragmented care systems across primary care, obstetric care, oral health, behavioral health, and community supports.

Join us with Texas Primary Care Consortium, Texas Oral Health Coalition, and Rural Texas Maternal Health Assembly for a two-part webinar series exploring practical strategies for delivering integrated perinatal care and improving coordination across the care continuum.

Session 1: Oral Health and the Perinatal Journey | May 28, 2026 | Register now: https://bit.ly/THI0526
Session 2: Whole-Person Care During and After Pregnancy | June 18, 2026 | Register now: https://bit.ly/THI0626

05/07/2026

Medical and dental care too often operate as separate systems.
Join us at the Texas Oral Health Coalition Summit for a critical discussion on what it will take to integrate medical and dental care, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and advance more coordinated, scalable models of whole-person health across Texas and beyond. Register now to join the conversation at the 2026 TxOHC Summit! https://bit.ly/txohc26

05/01/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to recognize that mental health and physical health are deeply connected, and both are shaped by the systems and conditions around us. By strengthening the conditions that support well-being, we can help more people have more good days.
This year’s theme, More Good Days, Together, invites us to reflect on what a good day looks like, both for ourselves and for our communities. Together, we can use that insight to connect people to the right support at the right time and advance the health of all.

04/30/2026

Strong oral health is essential to thriving communities, influencing everything from academics and job opportunities to chronic disease prevention. Join clinicians, advocates, and changemakers at the 2026 TxOHC Summit taking place June 4–5 in Austin, TX, to explore strategies, partnerships, and innovations that strengthen oral health for all Texans.
Don’t miss out, register today! https://bit.ly/txohc26

04/30/2026

We are honored to welcome Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, the 20th U.S. Surgeon General and Executive Director of the Center for Community Health Enhancement and Learning (HEAL) at Purdue University, to the Texas Oral Health Coalition Summit for a featured fireside chat on what it will take to strengthen trust, expand access, and drive meaningful progress.
As a leading national voice on prevention and community health, Dr. Adams has helped elevate the role of oral health in advancing whole-person care and addressing disparities.
Register now to join us at the 2026 TxOHC Summit! https://bit.ly/txohc26

04/29/2026

Health care affordability isn’t just about the price of care but the cost of preventable illness.
In Texas, too many dollars are spent treating conditions that could have been prevented with stronger primary care, public health investment, and earlier intervention. Preventable hospitalizations and complications remain a measurable and avoidable driver of cost in our system. As the Texas House Select Committee on Health Care Affordability takes up this issue, this is the moment to consider investing in prevention as essential to affordability. Read more: https://texashealthinstitute.org/texas-health-lens-the-cost-of-care-and-the-cost-of-preventable-illness/

04/27/2026

Healthcare systems face ongoing challenges with access, affordability, fragmentation, and trust. At the same time, many communities continue to experience a gap between how systems are designed and how people actually live, seek care, and make decisions. Community Health Professionals play a critical role in closing that gap.

Through lived experience, cultural understanding, and trusted relationships, Community Health Professionals bring essential perspectives to strengthening communities and systems. They also have an important role to play in shaping how evidence is generated and applied.

In our latest blog post, we explore how Community Health Professionals are essential for health system transformation and what happens when their expertise shapes research, system design, and policy from the start.

Read more: https://texashealthinstitute.org/community-health-professionals-a-critical-part-of-public-health-infrastructure/

04/24/2026

Our Healthy Texas Sustainers Circle is a monthly giving program open to anyone who wants to help build a healthier state. Your recurring gift sustains THI as the trusted, independent voice strengthening and coordinating Texas' health system. Join today:

By Texas Health Institute