Texas A&M and Univision San Antonio Promote Healthy Texas


COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Univision San Antonio announced this week new programming with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M University Health Science Center to  promote Healthy Texas, an initiative by The Texas A&M University System to reduce preventable diseases and their consequences in the Lone Star State.

The joint effort includes a regular segment airing Monday through Thursday at 5 p.m. and a 30-minute special on Saturday’s at 11 a.m. on Univision’s KWEX. The 30-minute show can also be heard in McAllen (7 a.m. on KGBT) and San Antonio radio (7 a.m. Sunday on KCOR and 7:30 a.m. Sunday KROM).

Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp shared his vision for Healthy Texas this week: https://youtu.be/gGeCNkOjXss

Healthy Texas programming, airing on Univision San Antonio’s KWEX through September 16, is part of a larger initiative to reduce the highest impact diseases and their consequences, including diabetes, asthma and infectious disease throughout a 27-county region in South Texas.

During each segment, an expert and one of Univision San Antonio’s anchors — Brenda Jimenez, Monica Navarro, Prissila Sanchez, Carolina Vela and Mariana Veraza — will explore a health-related topic important to the community, including raising healthy babies, disease prevention, healthy aging, staying fit, cooking healthier, gardening, among others.

“We are combining the statewide reach of our AgriLife Extension service with the research from our Health Science Center to bring life-saving and life-changing information and support to Texas residents,” said Chancellor Sharp. “We thank the Texas Legislature for continuing to fund this important pilot project that saves lives and saves taxpayer dollars by slowing the escalating costs of Medicaid.”

Chancellor Sharp predicted the program will be so effective in South Texas it will go statewide eventually. He offered a special thanks to Univision San Antonio for agreeing to help promote Healthy Texas to a broader audience.

“By partnering with Texas A&M, Univision San Antonio is able to provide our community with the critical health information they need.” said Chris Morris, vice president and general manager at Univision San Antonio. “It’s our mission to serve the Hispanic community and to provide meaningful information on the issues affecting their lives, and that includes health and wellness topics that they may not be getting in other ways.”

The collaboration between Univision and Healthy Texas builds on UCI’s corporate social responsibility platform, “Univision Contigo,” which is focused on empowering and enabling communities to build strong minds, promote healthy habits and celebrate diversity.

About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.2 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 148,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.

Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu