DHR Health and Starr County officials move dirt during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new DHR Health medical development on Thursday, June 30, 2022, in Starr County.
Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance is expanding its presence in Starr County.
DHR Health and Starr County officials broke ground on a new “state of the art” medical development in Rio Grande City on Thursday that will include a new laboratory, a clinic, a research facility, and other facilities that they hope will draw physicians to the area.
“Today, we stand here to redirect the same commitment of DHR Health to the family and friends of Starr County,” Dr. Manish Singh, CEO of DHR Health, said during Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony.
Singh said the hospital partnered with the Starr County Industrial Foundation, the Rio Grande Economic Development Corporation, Rio Grande City, and Starr County Memorial Hospital to bring “a medical lab to provide faster results for the patients, develop various residency programs to recruit even more skilled physicians to the area, a clinic, housing for those physicians — that’s right, an apartment complex so they can live near the workplace right here.”
He added there will also be a research facility that will conduct clinical studies for the benefit of Starr County residents.
“At DHR Health, we are known for patient-centered care, world class clinical expertise, and leading innovation — every patient, every encounter, every time,” Singh said. “We look forward to the future of this site and to working alongside all of you in keeping Starr County healthy.”
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera rejoiced in the groundbreaking, likening the arrival of the new development to “a guardian angel looking out for (them).”
“This project goes beyond the economic development that it’s going to bring to our region, the jobs that it’s going to create, the monies that are going to be invested,” Vera said. “This project is the future of Starr County.”
Vera thanked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick who was also in attendance for his support in passing a bill through the Texas legislature last year that allocated some funding to Starr County for the project.
The bill appropriated $16.7 million from funds the state received through the American Rescue Plan Act to DHR Health to upgrade existing laboratory facilities and bring new laboratory infrastructure to Starr County.
Those funds will be used for the health care services that DHR Health is expected to provide there but, separately, the new development is also expected to include privately-owned facilities as well, according to Alonzo Cantu, a co-founder of DHR Health and chairman and CEO of Cantu Construction.
Cantu said the idea is to have several facilities similar to what is seen on the southeast corner of Dove Avenue and McColl Road on the McAllen side of the DHR campus.
One facility, he said, will be a conference center like the one at the DHR campus in Edinburg, but smaller.
“Something like that where the kids can go have plays and they can have concerts,” Cantu said. “There’s going to be a park in the middle of it so they can go out there and play and the kids can walk around or maybe even do things like assisted living apartments, some social services.”
The buildings might house medical facilities or they might house assisted living facilities, a nursing home, or a professional office, Cantu said.
“But there will be restrictions on what can go in there,” he said.
The new medical development will be an expansion of DHR’s services in Starr County following a partnership between the hospital system and Starr County Memorial Hospital. Through the existing partnership, DHR physicians provide services at the Starr County hospital.
“DHR Health has (a) long standing partnership with Starr County Memorial Hospital and together we have provided various medical services in Rio Grande City,” Singh said. “This new location will help grow our services even further into this community, making sure no person is left behind when it comes to health care.”
