By Karen Villarreal

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – JUNE 21, 2024 – The UTRGV School of Medicine is bringing its first cohort of a new Internal Medicine residency program to local hospitals, expanding the school’s medical training opportunities and expanding access to medical care for the Brownsville community.

Through a collaboration with HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division, Valley Regional and Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen will be the sites of three years of supervised training for 13 UTRGV School of Medicine doctors-in-residency.

The first cohort of the Internal Medicine program, on June 20 attended an orientation and met the staff and leadership team at Valley Regional Medical Center, where they will practice. Earlier in the week, they gathered for a similar tour at Rio Grande Regional Hospital.

Dr. Michael B. Hocker, dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine, said the university’s partnership with HCA-affiliate hospitals contributes to the School of Medicine’s mission to make healthcare more accessible and places physician residents in the lower Rio Grande Valley region for the first time.

• Texas in 2024 ranks 47 out of 50 for physicians per capita, with 33,670 physicians for its population of almost 31 million.

“In the Rio Grande Valley specifically, there's a shortage of almost every specialty care,” Hocker said. “What we're doing with this partnership is creating the next generation of physicians who we hope will stay to practice here in the Rio Grande Valley.” 

David Irizarry, chief executive officer of Valley Regional Medical Center, said this is the beginning of what will end up being a very large residency program – plans are to seat 150 total resident physicians by 2029 – one that in the future will lead to fellowships.

“We’re bringing in eager physicians to come learn from our medical staff that has kept our community healthy,” he said.  “This is only possible by being able to think big and act in partnership to improve patient care.” 

John Cowen Jr., mayor of the City of Brownsville,  said having this residency program in Brownsville allows local professionals to have a “pipeline of talent.”

“Brownsville is the number one city in the state of Texas for job growth, and it represents opportunity for all our residents. We need the buy-in of our community, so that we can continue to grow and have a high-quality life here,” he said. “Count on me as a partner and as a resource as you continue to build this program.” 

David Irizarry, chief executive officer of Valley Regional Medical Center, welcomed medical residents during orientation on June 20 in Brownsville. Irizarry said this is the beginning of what will end up being a very large residency program – plans are to seat 150 total resident physicians by 2029 – one that in the future will lead to fellowships. (UTRGV Photo by David Pike)

SHAPING THE RGV’S PHYSICANS

Irizarry thanked the physicians who attended the welcome event to meet the new residents.

“Your being here means a lot, because you are going to share your intellect and your life experiences, which will shape these new physicians,” Irizarry said. “That is going to have a great impact here at our facility, in our communities.”

Dr. Michelle Lopez, UTRGV School of Medicine program director, said the 13 residents were selected from thousands of applications from all over the world, for their passion for medicine, research and education, and for their compassion for medically underserved communities.

“Many of them have experience already in underserved areas in their home countries,” Lopez said. “That's exactly what this community needs – people who really want to be here and give back to our patients who need them.” 

Dr. Ivan Mogollón, one of the 13 new residents, is from Corozal, Colombia. His year of social service after graduation – a requirement in many Latin American countries – took place in a very small medical center in a rural area of the country, he said.

Despite lacking basic supplies – like paper for writing up clinical charts – the goal there was the same: to help people, he said. 

“It was a great experience for me to practice community-oriented medicine, and that’s what I’m looking for here – to address some of the needs in the area,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to work with what you have at hand. But here, in these two hospitals, we have a lot of tools to do our best for the people in the Valley.” 

Lopez, also a UTRGV assistant professor of Internal Medicine, said partnering with HCA for graduate medical education gives residents the best tools and opportunities to carry out their passion for service.

“During these three years, we’re going to be training doctors under the supervision of an attending physician, to give doctors the confidence they need to make medical decisions for their patients as they go out into the real world and practice independently,” she said.

Mogollón said he looks forward to working with the community and starting his life in Texas. After his three-year residency here, he hopes to stay in the Valley to pursue a fellowship.

“And if I can stay here all my life and have my family here, I'll be happy,” he said.

UTRGV and the HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division welcomed 13 resident physicians to Valley Regional Medical Center. Through the collaboration, Valley Regional and Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen will be the sites of three years of supervised training for 13 UTRGV School of Medicine doctors-in-residency. (UTRGV Photo by David Pike)