Two TTUHSC Faculty Honored as Texans Caring for Texans

• By Meaghan Collier
• August 9, 2024
• Health

Each year state agencies from the upper 26 counties in the Texas Panhandle are invited to select an employee or team of employees to receive a Texans Caring for Texans award. For 2024, Todd Bell, M.D., with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine, and Deborah Casida, EDS, with the TTUHSC School of Nursing, were honored.

Bell, an associate professor, is trained in internal medicine and pediatrics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bell became the public health authority for the City of Amarillo Department of Public Health where his insight into infectious disease transmission was invaluable to the community; that same insight is currently being used today as the region monitors Avian Flu. In his clinical practice at Texas Tech Physicians, Bell focuses on conditions of dysautonomia, rare conditions which affect the autonomic nervous system and result in severe symptoms related to loss of control of blood pressure, heart rate and vascular tone. 

“Dr. Bell has pioneered diagnostic tests to detect these conditions in patients suffering from orthostasis, the symptoms associated with loss of blood pressure regulation when standing or sitting upright,” Brian Weis, M.D., TTUHSC School of Medicine regional dean, said in his nomination. “Patients come from well outside Amarillo to see Dr. Bell for his expertise in this field. Quite simply, Dr. Bell is the epitome of a Texas Caring for Texans through his commitment to public health and individual medical care. The Panhandle of Texas is very fortunate to have Dr. Bell among the health care providers in this area.”

Casida is an assistant professor and the Accelerated BSN site coordinator for the TTUHSC School of Nursing in Amarillo. She was recognized for her work supporting the Ag Safety Day program in Swisher County for more than 15 years. She has coordinated TTUHSC student and Emergency Nurses Association volunteers for the event–– one that has provided critical safety education to more than 7,600 kids in Tulia, Kress and Happy. 

The 2024 Texans Caring for Texans recipients were recognized Aug. 8 in a ceremony at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. 

Other state agencies recognized included: Amarillo College, Clarendon College, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Health and Human Services Commission and Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine. 

The award program, created in 1996 by former State Representative David Swinford, recognizes these state employees for the effort they put forth to positively impact their communities.