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LIFESTYLE
MEDICINE

Public Health and Our Planet’s Health
is Intertwined

By Sandra Zaragoza and Kristy Y. Kosub, MD

O ne pillar of the Charles E. Cheever Jr. Center for

Medical Humanities & Ethics at UT Health San
Antonio (UTHSA) is the Community Service
Learning (CSL) Program, directed by Melanie Stone, DrPH,
MEd since its inception in 2008. Service learning is a struc-
tured community experience with mentored preparation and
reflection. Students engage in projects in response to commu-
nity-identified concerns, and learn about the context in which
illness develops and their roles as citizens and professionals as
they empower medically underserved communities in San An-
tonio, South Texas and globally.
The Annual CSL Conference originated as an opportunity
to learn from service experiences of students, faculty, staff and
community partners. There is a focused theme relevant to serv-
ice-learning with expert lecturers, skills-building workshops,
opportunities to share best practices, and showcases of stu-
dents’ poster presentations.
The 17th Annual CSL Conference — “One Planet. One
Health. We are all connected” is Saturday, February 3, from
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Teddie M. Potter, PhD, RN, Clinical
Professor and Director of Planetary Health, University of
Minnesota School of Nursing, is the keynote speaker. The
Mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nirenberg, will give a lunch
plenary titled, “San Antonio’s 21st Century Challenge: Balancing movement focused on analyzing and addressing the impacts of human
Sustainability and Growth.” destructions to earth’s natural systems,” Potter said. “I’ll share the global
“Our students, like many future and practicing healthcare profes- vision for solutions, particularly for the health sector. More than any-
sionals, are concerned about the state of the planet and want a better thing, I plan to share a word of hope because the actions that restore
understanding of how it connects to overall health,” said Dr. Stone. health of the planet are good for our health, too,” she added.
“We are excited to have esteemed speakers, including the Mayor and The conference is free and open to the community. For agenda and
Dr. Potter, to lead these timely, solutions-oriented discussions.” registration details, visit www.texashumanities.org/CSLconference.
Dr. Potter noted, “There are many ways humans are disrupting the
Earth’s natural systems. Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, Sandra Zaragoza, Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist,
and water, soil and air pollution are impacting agriculture, fishing and Health Confianza, Charles E. Cheever Jr. Center for Medical Humanities
hunting, many forms of outdoor recreation and human health. These & Ethics.
human-cause disruptions are reversing decades of public health gains
and threatening survival of future generations.” Kristy Y. Kosub, MD, Faculty Associate, Charles E. Cheever Jr. Center
Potter plans to discuss the planet’s challenges and opportunities to for Medical Humanities & Ethics, Member of the BCMS Publications
get it and our health back on track. “All is not lost. I’ll be speaking about Committee.
planetary health, a solutions-oriented trans-disciplinary field and social

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