EDINBURG — “Howdy,” Texas A&M College of Medicine Dean Dr. Amy Ware told a room full of generally influential and well-connected people at DHR Health Wednesday.
“Gotta get used to that,” she said with a smile.
With other A&M and DHR representatives, Ware was on hand to announce an expansion of the collaboration between the entities that makes the A&M School of Medicine the academic affiliate for DHR Health’s Graduate Medical Education residency and fellowship programs.
There was a good deal of whooping and howdying and maroon-colored clothes on Wednesday.
The message was clear: DHR Health is a fightin’ Texas aggie now, and an awful lot of aggies are going to be headed to DHR.
Representatives said that closer union will have a significant impact on the community.
“This alliance is aimed at training the future clinicians that will advance high-quality care,” DHR Health CEO Dr. Manish Singh said. “Through these programs we aim to ensure that we will train physicians to provide world-class healthcare for generations to come with the ultimate goal of continuing to approve the health and wellbeing of our Rio Grande Valley community.
“Residents will receive training in our state of art facilities, and it is with great pleasure that I stand here knowing that Texas A&M and DHR Health have shared vision and commitment to graduate medical education and enriched partnership.”
When will the partnership begin bearing fruit?
Soon, Ware said, describing the opportunities it will provide for resident training and clinical research opportunities.
“There will be hundreds of residents that are involved in this program, and we know that we’re committed to growing that number as well,” she said
Dr. Kip Owen, DHR Health board member and himself an A&M alumnus, described the partnership as a union between two growing institutions with a shared vision, the primary result of which will be increased opportunity and access to care in the Valley.
“The partnership between DHR Health and Texas A&M is a coalition created by shared vision for medical education,” Owen told the crowd, with his A&M class ring glittering prominently on his finger. “This partnership creates a team — a team committed to excellence — to provide world-class healthcare at home, today and in the future.”
Back in October, DHR Health unilaterally ended its role as a teaching site for residents and fellows from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
On Monday, UTRGV and HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division signed an agreement of their own, which also creates more residency opportunities. They also described the announcement as supremely significant.
Both the UT and A&M systems have both bet big on the Valley since A&M opened its Higher Education System in McAllen in 2018.
Announcements of investments, developments and partnerships — often described as historic — have been common in the last couple of years as the university systems stake claims in different parts of the Valley.
The partnership between DHR Health and Texas A&M is a coalition created by shared vision for medical education. This partnership creates a team — a team committed to excellence — to provide world-class healthcare at home, today and in the future.
UTRGV, for example, broke ground on a new cancer center last year, and signed partnerships with McAllen and Edinburg school districts for collegiate high school partnerships.
A&M has made partnerships of its own — with South Texas College and Edinburg CISD this year, for example.
Chancellor John Sharp referenced some ongoing projects Wednesday: manufacturing training in Brownsville that’s going to be expanded into McAllen and a nursing program being developed at the Higher Education Center.
Sharp described the Valley’s appeal as abundantly clear: its human capital and young people. Partnerships with universities like A&M — including the DHR deal — are fueling an economic boom, he said.
“That’s the future,” Sharp said. “This is the future right here.”
