By Saira Cabrera

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – JULY 19, 2024 – Following through with its promise to transform the health of the Rio Grande Valley and beyond through advanced academic medicine, UTRGV School of Medicine leaders and physician residents attended a meet and greet to celebrate the start of the new UTRGV internal medicine residency program.

The new residencies, which are based at Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen and Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville – welcomed 13 physician residents who will participate at 50% capacity in Brownsville and 50% in McAllen starting this summer. Both hospitals are affiliates of the HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division.

ADDRESSING NATIONAL SHORTAGE

Dr. Adriana Gomez, chief medical officer for Rio Grande Regional Hospital, said this collaboration means that medical education is advancing in the Valley, addressing a national shortage to better serve a historically underserved region.

"This program means we are advancing medical education at home, joining with UTRGV as our academic partner to bring quality education for the future physicians we need in our community," she said. "Internal Medicine is the first program we're opening because there is a nationwide shortage of primary care physicians, especially here in the Valley."

MAKING HEALTHCARE ACCESSIBLE

Dr. Michael B. Hocker, dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine and senior vice president of UT Health RGV, said the university's partnership with HCA-affiliate hospitals contributes to the School of Medicine's mission to make healthcare more accessible by placing physician residents in a region that has needed them for far too long.

"Texas is 47 out of 50 physicians per capita – that's the bottom 47 out of 50," Hocker said. "And when you look at where those physicians are practicing, they're in the large metropolitan areas, and the Rio Grande Valley has long been neglected. This partnership, and what we are already doing at the UTRGV School of Medicine, is producing the next generation of physicians and improving how we care for our community."

He said 60% to 70% of residents are more likely to stay where they train, which means that at least seven of the 13 new resident physicians now added through the collaboration with HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast could potentially stay to practice in the Valley, helping address a dire need for primary and specialized care.

"Residents, you are so important to our community," Hocker told the new residents at the meet and greet. "The care you will provide for our community is important. And, hopefully, you'll stay to be the physician leaders our community needs."

This collaborative residency program hopes to seat 150 total resident physicians by 2029 and offer a range of specialties, potentially attract more talent to the Valley, and help create a pipeline of physicians who will be the future of healthcare for the region. 

As a result of similar partnerships with local hospitals, UTRGV since 2016 has graduated more than 400 new physicians, of whom 56% have remained in Texas to practice, and of those residents, 59% have stayed in the Rio Grande Valley since 2016.

"The future is bright, residents," Hocker said. "You're now part of realizing a dream we had in the Rio Grande Valley for many years. … I look forward to the future programs that will come from today, and to the future physicians who will support the care of the Rio Grande Valley. Together, we will transform the healthcare of our region."