HARLINGEN — More residencies mean more physicians.
And more physicians in the Valley mean better health care for everybody.
The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division signed a historic agreement Monday, making official a plan that has been in the works for several years: an affiliation between the two entities to create more residencies for medical students.
“This is an incredible new progressive partnership between UTRGV and HCA,” said James Milliken, chancellor of the University of Texas system.
Milliken spoke virtually from another location, but he delivered his message to a room full of dignitaries at the UTRGV Clinical Education Building.
“It’s another milestone in the evolution of UTRGV and its mission to serve the Rio Grande Valley,” Milliken said to Guy Bailey, president of UTRGV; Dr. Nolan Perez, a gastroenterologist and member of the UT Board of Regents; David Irizarry, chief executive officer of Valley Regional Medical Center; and numerous other attendees.
Previous articles and announcements have hailed the creation of residencies in many fields of medicine. These new residencies serve several purposes. They offer local students a chance to study medicine without leaving the Valley. Physicians often practice medicine where they finish their residencies. More residencies here in the Valley mean more physicians and better health care.
Perez said Texas has fewer physicians per capita than almost anywhere in the United States, and the Valley has even fewer than the rest of the state.
“The main thing here is the impact that a Graduate Medical Education will have,” he said, contrasting GME’s with Undergraduate Medical Education.
“With the UME, they still have to go outside the Valley,” he said. “With GMEs, physicians are ready to practice right after they graduate.”
These new residencies are made possible through Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen and Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville. Both facilities are part of the HCA Healthcare System. The HCA will bring evidence-based training derived from current research, said Laura Disque, incoming CEO of Rio Grande Regional Hospital.
The details of which residences are to be created under the new affiliation will be revealed later, said Dr. Michael Hocker, dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine.
“We are still working through all the specifics, but we’re looking at neurology, otolaryngology, emergency medicine and orthopedics,” Hocker said. “We will have another internal medicine residency.”
