Aracely Salinas’ start in business was born of grief as well as inspiration from her late husband.

Michael Bryant Salinas was a longtime Rio Grande Valley paramedic and CPR instructor. For years, Aracely accompanied her husband to classroom and training sessions. Here, her husband taught the essentials of emergency medical care. 

When he died in August 2018, Aracely had life-changing decisions to make. One came fairly quickly when she decided to open a business that would serve the sort of frontline medical workers Michael knew well and were part of in his years in healthcare. 

Walk into Aracely’s Uniforms Etc. and you will see row after row of medical scrubs hung up along with lab coats, shoes, socks and head wear for professionals in the medical field. The downtown San Benito store is conveniently located between large hospitals in Harlingen and Brownsville as well as a number of other medical facilities in the two cities.

It’s not just business for her. Aracely also feels an emotional connection to the healthcare workers given the years her husband dedicated to the field.

“She relates to them on a deeper level,” said Trish Saldana, an employee at the San Benito store in describing Salinas’ bond with nurses, medical assistants, technicians and other medical workers. “She knows what they go through.”

Transitioning From A Career In Education

Salinas has had an interesting career of her own. She worked for years as a social worker for the state. She went from there to a career in education as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. A common thread, Salinas said, in her work and that of her husband is service to the community. She wanted to carry ton that legacy through her store, which she opened in April 2019.

Salinas also decided to follow in her husband’s path in becoming a certified CPR instructor. The new role she chose would take her to some of the same places her husband went to provide training. She knew doing so would be emotional for her, but saw it as a way to honor Michael’s legacy and meet people who knew her husband.

“It’s a way of connecting with people he helped,” Salinas said. “I was also hoping to hear stories about him, and maybe learn more about what he did.”

Extended Support

Working in the medical field is a calling and those working in it have been tested like never before in the last year. Salinas is sensitive to those challenges and the long working hours medical workers are putting in. Her San Benito store has extended hours that include 9 p.m. closing times, Monday through Saturday, with Uniforms Etc., open on Sunday afternoons.

If needed, Salinas will rush from her nearby home in the city to open her store if a medical worker calls or messages her in asking for a special time to come by outside of normal business hours. 

“We work our schedule around their schedule,” she said. “They work really long hours, and we need to be available.”

Saldana can attest to Salinas’ willingness to serve her customers.

“She’s come back at 9:30 at night to open the store and help them,” Saldana said. “We’re the only location that is accessible to all frontline workers no matter the schedules they work.”

Salinas knows her life would be different if her husband was still living and working as a paramedic. 

“I’d probably still be working in education,” she said. 

Salinas is happy to be in the space she’s occupying, honoring her husband’s legacy and supporting the medical field he dedicated his life to representing. 

“I know he would definitely be proud of me,” she said. “I feel like I’m taking over what he was doing and helping the people he served.”