For more than 20 years, residents of the Rio Grande Valley have come to rely on the free medical care provided during Operation Lone Star. With locations in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Webb counties, the medical personnel see more than 1,000 people daily. For some, this annual emergency preparedness exercise is their only opportunity to see a physician. The weeklong exercise takes place this week (July 22-26). Hours are Monday…
Michael Menchaca was less than a year into running and owning his own night clinic and navigating the maze of health insurance requirements and documentation when a thought came to him on his daily commute home from Harlingen to Weslaco. “I thought, ‘there has to be a better way,’” he recalled. “Why can’t healthcare be like gym membership?” Menchaca describes it as an “overnight” change. The young nurse practitioner went…
Texas State Guard Lt. Col. Richard Male performs a patient screening in Mission during last year’s Operation Lone Star.Operation Lone Star makes its return to South Texas the week of July 22 as the state oversees an emergency preparedness exercise. The event features an array of health services offered for free at six locations. Five of those locations are in the Rio Grande Valley. The sixth location is in Laredo.…
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will offer a new master degree program this fall. The Master of Science degree program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will allow students to pursue an advanced degree that will prepare them for jobs in the biotechnology industry. This includes biomedical, pharmaceutical and agricultural biotechnology, as well as health and environmental sciences. Dr. Parwinder Grewal is the UTRGV executive vice president for Research, Graduate Studies…
One local college and four independent school districts are the recipients of $850,892 in grants from the Texas Workforce Commission. The funds are for programs that focus on supporting high-demand occupations through the Jobs and Education for Texans grant program. The award total for 27 JET grants is $5,718,073 in 27 grants. Funds go to multiple public community colleges, technical institutes, state colleges and ISDs for programs. “I congratulate these JET recipients as…
The UTRGV School of Nursing recently welcomed eight students from the Project HEAL2 program. The students hail from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District and are prospective UTRGV nursing students Project HEAL2 is a program from the Region One Education Service Center. The program provides high school students with an interest in a nursing career educational opportunities and experiences to kick start their career. Students who successfully complete the program can graduate with an associate…
Valley Regional Medical Center and Texas State Technical College are teaming up to provide job training using a $202,162 grant. The grant provides custom training to 153 new and incumbent workers for training in industry-related topics. This includes vocational nursing, physical therapy and accounting. Trainees will include administrative assistants, cardiac lab technicians, diagnostic imaging technician, nursing assistant and social workers. Benefiting workers in the Workforce Solutions Cameron area, the Skills…
South Texas College, Hidalgo Independent School District and Texas Workforce Commission united for a check presentation benefiting student workforce training for careers in manufacturing and healthcare March 28. The grant provides both equipment and instruction for students in manufacturing and pharmacy technology career fields. More than $166,000 came from TWC in the form of the High Demand Job Training Grant and the Jobs and Education for Texans Grant. In partnership with TWC and…
South Texas College’s Nursing and Allied Health Campus hosts its open house March 30. During this time, the public may tour the facilities, as well as explore the career pathways in the medical field. Advisors will be on site to discuss information regarding the Texas Success Initiative Assessment. Those who have interest may also register for the fall 2019 semester. “The goal is to really make sure that attendees have…
McAllen Medical Center, part of the South Texas Health System, is the first hospital in Hidalgo County designated as a Level II Trauma Center. Patients who come to the Level II Trauma Center are less likely to transfer to another facility for further care. The designation by the Texas Department of State Health Services was achieved following program verification by the American College of Surgeons. It was a requirement that…