Red and blue lights, a helicopter and dozens of law enforcement officers in their patrol vehicles were part of the recognition event Friday morning to conclude National Hospital Week as they made their way through Harlingen and Brownsville to celebrate the healthcare heroes.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Brownsville Police Department, Hidalgo County authorities, South Padre Island Police, San Benito Police, Brownsville Independent School District Police, UT Police, Rancho Viejo Police, Los Fresnos Police and the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department were among the partners that made this event possible as they visited Valley Regional Medical Center, Harlingen Medical Center and Valley Baptist Health System in both Brownsville and Harlingen.
“I think our staff, and I know our staff appreciated all the support. And this is truly an honor, for everyone to come in and just show the support that they’re demonstrating for our staff. It’s a very beautiful tribute,” Marisa Aguilar, chief operating officer at Valley Baptist Health System in Brownsville, said.
“We greatly appreciate all the support. I think our hospital staff, especially during Hospital Week and Nurses Week, it is a great tribute for them to appreciate everything that they’ve done. So, we really enjoy the support that we have received from law enforcement and we really appreciate that.”
Aguilar said she gets emotional when she thinks about everything that the healthcare workers have gone through for the past year. She said they are our local heroes and thanks them for all their hard work they continue to do while doing what they love, which is saving lives.
When it comes to the hopes for the future, Aguilar said she would like to see more people get educated on the COVID-19 vaccine because there are still a lot of residents who are hesitant about whether or not to get it. She said there is a lot of misinformation out there shared on social media but that there are resources available to answer questions about the vaccine.
As of press time, in Cameron County there are only 161,538 residents fully vaccinated, a total of 38%. There are 214,989 residents who have received at least one dose, a total of 51%, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Get educated, I think that’s very important. Whatever questions and whatever reasons are making you not want to get vaccinated, explore those questions. We have the resources here, I know that when we provide the vaccine to the community we have our nursing staff, we have the pharmacists, we have physicians, we have everyone readily available to answer the questions for them. We have seen that conversion, even with our own employees,” she said.
“Initially we started off with them being a little reluctant, we provided town hall meetings for them so that they could get educated and sure enough, our conversion rate has definitely improved and we’ve seen a larger percentage of our employees get vaccinated in the hospital. And that goes along with the community, because we’ve asked and we’ve provided the responses they needed and they’ve decided to get vaccinated. … Although we are at a better position than we were last year, definitely with our hospital census we’ve seen our numbers decrease, so if we can actually eliminate [COVID-19], that would be great to see for next year.”
Michelle Aguilar, chief nursing officer, said the last 12 months have been very emotional and she remembers last year’s National Hospital Week being even more emotional than this year’s because it occurred during the peak of the pandemic. She said she feels thankful for the appreciation and knows the hospital staff appreciates it as well.
“This year, as it’s getting better, we just feel a lot more secure with the vaccines. I know officials have said that we can take off our masks but we continue to wear them. Just celebrating that, this year just feels different,” she said.
When it comes to the vaccines, she said while there might be side effects that will last a day the vaccine provides a sense of security that makes such a big difference.
According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines are effective at keeping you from getting COVID-19 and getting a COVID-19 vaccine will also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.
“If they have any questions, I think it’s all about just getting informed. Reaching out to people, reaching out to pharmacists, reaching out to whoever can educate us on the vaccine, what it has and the side effects,” she said.
“Yes, you might feel a little sick for a day, but what you gain from it is so different. That feeling, that sense of security, it just makes such a big difference.”
