Category Archives: Healthcare

TWC Grant Funds Medical Training

e-Brief Features Education Healthcare News Comments

The Workforce Development and Continuing Education department at Texas State Technical College, in partnership with Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, is the recipient of a Skills Development Fund grant for customized job training. The $301,238 Texas Workforce Commission grant currently provides technical skills training for 155 Valley Baptist Medical Center employees. Customized raining will continue for one year for positions such as certified nursing assistants, registered nurses and nurse managers. The training focuses…

Read More

Symposium Addresses Healthcare Disparities

Education Events Featured Healthcare News Comments
Students are able to show their research at the School of Medicine Research Symposium. (photo Silver Salas, UTRGV)

From advances in studying determinants of health, to public health initiatives to combat obesity and patient case studies, researchers from across the country and world gathered recently at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine’s second annual Research Symposium to discuss how they are addressing disparities in healthcare. “Health Disparities 2018: Closing the Gap” featured keynote speaker Maria Elena Bottazzi, associate dean of the National School of…

Read More

Nonprofit Fosters Healing

Healthcare News Professional Services Comments
Cindy Perez-Waddle, a licensed professional counselor, stands on the stage of a mini-theater where children can use puppets and other props to act out their feelings. (VBR)

Coming to terms with the loss of a loved one is among life’s hardest journeys. For children, the path can be especially confusing and difficult. In the Rio Grande Valley there is only one organization that specializes in helping young people travel that road to healing. The Children’s Bereavement Center Rio Grande Valley in Harlingen opened in February 2017 to foster healing for grieving children and their families. “That’s really…

Read More

Ambiance Enhances Care

Healthcare News Comments
Mid Valley Nursing & Rehabilitation in Mercedes offer hotel-like amenities as well as care provided partly by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine’s Family Residency Program. (VBR)

The sign outside reads Mid Valley Nursing & Rehabilitation. “I see it as a hotel,” said Alice Roel, the licensed nursing facility administrator for the Mercedes facility. “You register and have housekeeping, meals, activities, laundry and transportation provided round the clock with exceptional customer service.” The state-of-the-art complex, which Touchstone Strategies opened in November 2016, aims for a homey, hospitality ambiance rather than a medical or institutional atmosphere, Roel said.…

Read More

UTRGV Launches Addiction Studies Online

Education Healthcare News Comments
Bruce Reed, UTRGV professor of rehabilitation services and counseling and director of the School of Rehabilitation Services and Counseling

With the start of classes on Aug. 27, the UTRGV School of Rehabilitation Services and Counseling will offer a new bachelor of science degree in Addiction Studies completely online. The degree program meets all education requirements for positions as a licensed chemical dependency counselor in Texas. “For professionals already working in the substance abuse field, this provides a flexible way to earn a degree and advance in careers,” said Bruce Reed. Reed serves as both…

Read More

Changing Lives with Music

Healthcare News Comments
Board certified Music Therapist Marisa de Leon, who plays a wide range of instruments, helps patients regain their ability to walk, move, remember and talk. (VBR)

Talk about a huge learning curve. Before board certified music therapist Marisa de Leon opened her business RGV Music Therapy and Wellness Center in May 2017, she had never held a full-time job other than a professional internship. One year later, de Leon is so busy seeing clients across the Valley that she recently contracted the services of another music therapist and transitioned to an LLC from a sole proprietorship.…

Read More

STHS Names Regional Vice President

e-Brief Features Healthcare News Comments
Charles “Chuck” Stark

Charles “Chuck” Stark is the new regional vice president in South Texas for South Texas Health System, effective June 29. Stark now has regional responsibility for hospitals in both the McAllen and Edinburg markets. He will also oversee those in Laredo and Eagle Pass.   Prior to joining South Texas Health System, Stark served as chief executive officer of Brookwood Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. Previous service includes a number…

Read More

School of Medicine Launches UTHealth RGV

e-Brief Features Education Healthcare News Comments

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine has launched UTHealth RGV, the school’s clinical practice which provides patients throughout the Valley additional access to primary and specialty care. The practice has several offices open, providing primary and specialty care. This includes pediatric genetics and neurology care, as well as women’s health specialists, general and endocrine surgery and rheumatology. Locations are found throughout the Valley, with more opening in coming…

Read More

TSTC Helps Fill Nursing Shortage

e-Brief Features Education Healthcare News Comments
TSTC nursing

The Texas State Technical College nursing division in Harlingen is celebrating its second consecutive 100 percent national exam pass rate for its vocational nursing program. The milestone is a mark of distinction for the department working to relieve a shortage of nurses in the Rio Grande Valley and across the state. “We hold all of our students to a high standard,” said Heather Sauceda, TSTC vocational nursing program director. “Here…

Read More

New UTRGV Doctorate Program Approved

e-Brief Features Education Healthcare Comments
(photo UTRGV)

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has received approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish a new degree program for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical psychology. The new PhD program will focus on producing clinical psychology scientist-practitioners with knowledge about Hispanic cultures in the Rio Grande Valley and the United States. “Providing new educational opportunities for the students of the Rio Grande Valley is…

Read More