HARLINGEN — Mobilize the troops.
When the pandemic struck, the Pre-Physician Assistant Society at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley took quick action. As soon as vaccines became available, the students began setting up stations to administer the shots.
“We are a student-led organization, just doing a lot in our community,” said Leinady Estrada, vice-president.
More specifically, the organization is made up of UTRGV students and recent graduates who are planning to apply to PA programs.
Physician assistants are often the first medical practitioners patients see in a doctor’s office or hospital. They can conduct exams, order diagnostic tests, interpret those tests and develop treatment plans. They can prescribe medications. They can also assist doctors in surgery or work in emergency rooms.
Estrada and her fellow officers had descended on Lon C. Hill Park the evening of Aug. 3 for National Night Out to give their latest round of vaccinations. The night was still young so they had a few minutes to talk about their work, which held a special poignancy against the backdrop of the Delta variant.
“It just proves how important the work we are doing is because there is a big need,” Estrada said. “We have helped vaccinate over 10,000 people since April. We’ve made a really big impact in our community, and we’ve met all kinds of leaders, from public health directors to the Mexican consulate.”
Vaccination is just one of many pieces in their proactive approach to public health. Crystal Cantu, president of the organization, pointed out its multi-faceted activities.
“We’ve also helped out with food distribution,” Cantu said. “We also do Farmers’ Market where we do blood pressure every Sunday. It’s all free. We offer these services to our community.”
That said, vaccination is still the number one priority, both here and with our friends across the border. Cantu explained the organization’s initiative to assist employees of the maquiladoras along the south bank of the Rio Grande. They don’t have visas or U.S. citizenship to cross, but the pre PAs have found a way to reach them.
“We set up in a duty-free area at a bridge where we administer vaccines to these Mexican citizens,” Cantu said. “We’ve seen people cry. We’ve had people thank us so much. Most of these people are taking a two-hour trip to get to us. We have heard that their families are still not eligible to get the vaccines over there. They still have a cap on who can get the vaccine.”
There’s no cap on what the pre-PA society will do to help others, and it’s all due to the commitment of society members and officers, Cantu said.
“Our efforts as an organization would not be possible without the help of my amazing officers and the help of our members being willing to volunteer their time without any pay,” she said. “Everything we do is a volunteer effort.”
Part of that effort includes raising money for training and other opportunities, and that’s where Rebecca Castillo, treasurer, comes in. The organization, she said, holds fundraisers to attend conferences organized by the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants.
“It gets us more involved with other pre-PA students, physician assistants, other information so they can keep us up to date to apply to PA school,” she said.
Jesus Garcia’s job as vice-president of external affairs for the organization is to link the pre-PA society with the community.
“This could be in events like vaccinating people or volunteering in any kind of clinic or services that they have,” Garcia said. “Mostly we concentrate on health care events, but if there are other things we can do and we can help the community, then we do it.”
He said when the pandemic struck the organization was given a choice: the members could stay on the sidelines or “go in and work with doctors, with nurses, with hospitals.”
They chose the latter.
“Basically, we have been helping out in the community during this whole year of the pandemic,” he said.
All this requires a great deal of coordination, and that’s handled by Fernando Cisneros, secretary.
“As of right now we have 68 members,” Cisneros said. “You can see how that can take a lot of coordination to pass on information for signup sheets for our members.”
So much activity has given Christa Lopez plenty to document as the group historian.
“My job is to record every function we attend, either taking photos or through recording videos,” Lopez said. “A big part is to manage our social media pages, like our Instagram page, Facebook page. The purpose of that is to really promote our organization, to get our name out there.”
Cisneros is enjoying his work with the organization and looks forward to taking office soon as the new president.
“I think the officers have really helped me as a member and as an applicant for a future PA program,” he said. “They are so helpful and so informative.”
