(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Paso del Norte Health Foundation awards UTEP $4.5 million grant; all-abilities playground to open at Ascarate Park [1] ['El Paso Matters Staff', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Date: 2024-05-17 This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso. Paso del Norte Health Foundation Awards UTEP $4.5 million grant The University of Texas at El Paso announced Wednesday plans to enhance how it prepares health care graduates to better serve border residents with the help of a $4.5 million matching grant from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. The UTEP Health initiative is an integration of the colleges of Nursing and Health Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, and other health-related departments such as psychology and mental health counseling. UTEP Health plans to create a rehabilitation science interprofessional teaching clinic, expand the occupational therapy doctoral program, recruit additional clinical faculty to the College of Nursing, upgrade simulation labs, and grow the bachelor’s of science in nursing program to produce more than 400 graduates annually. UTEP leaders were joined by officials and board members of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation on May 15, 2024. At center left is UTEP President Heather Wilson, with Tracy J. Yellen, CEO of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, at center right. (Courtesy UTEP) Tracy J. Yellen, CEO of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, said the grant will allow for the hiring of additional faculty and the installation of advanced equipment that will focus on health education and disease prevention. UTEP President Heather Wilson said that several of the planned efforts will begin this summer, but others will be developed over the next four years. She added that UTEP will announce the other half of the matching grant when it is secured. “This community desperately needs more health care professionals and UTEP is a big source of those professionals,” Wilson said after the event. “We think working with our partners can expand the number of very well prepared health care professionals.” More All-Abilities Playgrounds to Open in El Paso The county of El Paso is holding a ribbon-cutting for an all-abilities playground at 11 a.m. Friday, May 17, at Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Drive. The all-inclusive playground is designed for children of all ages and abilities to promote healthy physical, social, cognitive and sensory skills, the county said in a news release. The playground was funded by a $1 million Texas Parks and Wildlife Local Parks Urban Outdoor Recreation matching grant awarded to the county to build three playgrounds. The other two are at Risinger and Gallegos parks in Fabens and Canutillo, respectively. The local organization Moms on Board raised $750,000 for the playgrounds, while the county contributed $250,000 in monetary and in-kind services. Meanwhile, the city of El Paso is hosting public meetings for its planned $10 million all-abilities playground, which voters approved in November 2022 community progress bond. The meetings are at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at Joey Barraza Park, 11270 McCombs St. in Northeast; Thursday, May 23, at the Don Haskins Recreation Center, 7400 High Ridge Dr. on the Westside; and Wednesday, May 29, at J.P. Shawver Park, 8100 Independence Dr. in the Lower Valley. Two other meetings were held Wednesday and Thursday in Central and East El Paso. While no site has been selected, a study by the city’s Capital Improvement Department shows five recommended sites: Logan Park, Wellington Chew Park, Camp Cohen or Nolan Richardson Park in Northeast or Lomaland Park in the Lower Valley. Information: www.Elev8EP.com. County Honors ‘Unaccompanied Veterans’ with Display To honor veterans who are buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery without any known family members or whose families could not attend their burials, the county of El Paso has dedicated a glass case holding the folded flags typically given to families. The El Paso County Veterans Service Office unveiled the case on Tuesday, May 14, at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in Downtown. The initiative is part of the Unaccompanied Veteran Burials Program that works to ensure veterans receive standard interment procedures with military honors at Texas State Veterans Cemeteries, a county press release states. Prior to the program, veterans without next-of-kin were buried at the cemetery without any ceremony recognizing their military service. Information: epcounty.com/veterans [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/05/17/utep-pdn-health-all-abilities-playground-sisd-superintendent/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/