Maverick County Hospital District Strategic Plan seeks to found Health Care Institute, Recruit Local Medical Students & Residents, and more
By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
The Maverick County Hospital District Board of Directors approved its 2016-2017 Strategic Plan at its August 3, 2016 meeting, including significant amendments raised by Board member Ricardo “Rica” Calderon to found a Maverick County Health Care Institute for local students to study different health care careers in our community without having to go out of town and educate our own health care professionals which the community has a large deficiency by incorporating a non-profit educational corporation allowed under state law; to develop and implement an aggressive Physician recruitment program of Maverick County residents who are applying to medical school, are in medical school and/or doing resident medical programs in order to address the over 40-50 Physicians shortage in the community and impending retirement of many local Physicians in the near future; establish and implement a financial scholarship program for Maverick County students applying to or in medical school in exchange for a commitment to return and practice medicine in the community to alleviate the Physician shortage; and incorporate non-profit corporations for the District’s Physician Specialty Group and Oncology (Cancer) Treatment Program as independent, full-standing health care programs to avoid the perennial financial losses sustained by these programs to the District’s annual budget.
Board member Ricardo “Rica” Calderon recommended these amendments be added to the District’s 2016-2017 Strategic Plan and all were approved by the rest of the Board as a mechanism to address the most important health care issues facing Maverick County and the Hospital District. Calderon noted that Maverick County is falling behind other Texas and U.S.-Mexico border communities concerning health care issues of its residents. Calderon noted that Laredo, Texas has a Health Care Institute with the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley has opened the University of Texas Health Science Center (Medical School), and El Paso, Texas has the Texas Tech University Health Science Center and Medical School. Calderon opined that Maverick County should work with existing local educational institutions such as Southwest Texas Junior College and Rio Grande College as well as become affiliated with one of the state’s Health Science Centers and Medical Schools to start a new health care careers institute in Eagle Pass.
Calderon stated that the founding of a health care careers institute in Maverick County will ensure that our community will have health care professionals for the present and future demands of the community and allow local students to attend school either on a full-time or part-time basis in pursuit of a health care career in their very own community.
Calderon noted that currently the Hospital District is working with a nursing school in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico and the new medical school in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico to educate them in American health care practices and recruit them to work in Eagle Pass through an Immigration Work Visa. Calderon suggested that he and the local Hospital District should give priority to our very own students to get educated and work in the community instead of foreign students by starting our very own local health care careers institute. The rest of the Hospital Board members concurred with Calderon.
Another amendment recommended by Calderon and approved by the Board was to establish the financial scholarship and student loan program for Maverick County students studying health care careers in exchange for a commitment from the student to come and work in Maverick County upon graduating and/or completing their health care careers. Calderon noted that there are many first generation and needy students from Eagle Pass studying in different health care career institutes throughout Texas, which require financial assistance. A similar program previously existed at the Hospital District, but was terminated.
Another amendment recommended by Calderon and approved by the Board was to establish an aggressive recruitment program of Maverick County students studying at medical schools and/or completing their residency at Texas, American, or foreign medical schools to persuade them to return to our community and practice medicine locally. Calderon stated that many local high school graduates from C. C. Winn and Eagle Pass High Schools pursue medical and/or health care careers but do not return to practice in Maverick County. A greater effort must be done to recruit our local students to return home and practice locally.
An innovative amendment recommended by Calderon and approved by the Board was to create non-profit health care corporations for the Physician Specialty Group and Oncology (Cancer) Treatment Center at the Hospital District to become stand alone, independent health care practices so that they may become financially self-sufficient and satisfy a larger group of Maverick County residents. Both programs annually operate at significant financial losses to the District and this amendment would require they become sustainable and stop bleeding financial losses to Maverick County taxpayers.
