City of Brownsville in Texas Chosen as National Finalist For Fighting Health Problems

Brownsville, Texas is one of the lucky cities to be chosen as a finalist in the Roadmaps to Health contest of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Brownsville was one among the 12 cities chosen from more than 250 applicants for the contest. The foundation will award six cities $25,000 that displays commitment to improve the health culture in the city.

The city never has a shortage on health issues as it battles with issues like obesity, diabetes and uninsured individuals.

According to the Brownsville Herald, some of the criteria of the contest are the "level of collaboration among community leaders, the inclusiveness of the approach to health improvement, the consideration given to vulnerable populations, sustainability, use of available resources, and how results are measured and shared."

Dr. Rose Gowen, medical director at the University of Texas' Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus, said that the criteria allows "for different areas to be evaluated based on their response to their own specific issues".

Collaboration is one of the attributes of the citizens of Brownsville. In its application, the city highlighted events like its weekly farmers market and CycloBia that manifest collaboration among its members.

"The unique and steep challenges the city has had to tackle in its pursuit of a healthier future could factor into how Brownsville emerged in the top 12," Gowen said.

Gowen said that she is happy with the city's performance so far and the city has a good chance in winning one of the cash prizes. "We actually have a very good chance of all-out winning it," Gowen said confidently.

The six winners of the award will be announced in June 2014 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a philanthropic organization that focuses on the pressing issues in health and health care in our country.