FEATURED, FROM LEFT: Ronnie Larralde, Executive Director, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Marissa Gómez-Martínez, MD, the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Woman of the Year; and former Rep. Verónica Gonzáles, D-McAllen, immediate Past President, Board of Directors, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. Gómez-Martínez, a Board Certified Family Physician affiliated with DHR Health, received the annual top honor from the business organization on Thursday, October 14, 2021 during its Under The Neon Moon Installation and Awards Banquet, held at the McIntyre Promenade in Edinburg.
Photograph By NAYELI ZENTEÑO
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Marissa Gómez-Martínez, MD, Edinburg’s 2021 Woman of the Year, a distinguished symbol of DHR Health professionals who lead by example
By DAVID A. DÍAZ
[email protected]
Since it first opened its doors in 2003, DHR Health – one of the most-advanced health care systems in Texas, based in Edinburg – dozens of its leaders, physicians, nurses, and other professional staff members have been publicly recognized for their respective and significant contributions to deep South Texas.
One of the recent distinguished symbols of DHR Health professionals who lead by example is Marissa Gómez-Martínez, MD, a Board Certified Family Physician affiliated with DHR Health, Medical Director, DHR Health Edinburg CISD School Based Health Center, and Physician Advisor, DHR Health Urgent Care and Employee Health. She also serves on the DHR Health Board of Managers.
Family practice doctors provide care to people of all ages. These generalists treat chronic conditions, evaluate symptoms, offerpreventative care, and let people know when they need to see a specialist.
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-family-practice-doctor
Certification is a credential beyond state licensure, with standards set by family physicians, according to the American Board of Family Medicine. Being certified demonstrates the physician’s commitment to an ongoing process of keeping up-to-date and striving to deliver the best care possible to their patients and to their community. It also means they have met the standards for ethics and professionalism set by their peers.
https://www.theabfm.org/value-certification
On Thursday, October 14, 2021, during its Under The Neon Moon Installation and Awards Banquet, held at the McIntyre Promenade in Edinburg, the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce formally honored Gómez-Martínez with one of its most highly-respected awards by naming her the 2021 Woman of the Year.
“The Man and Woman of the Year recognition has been a highly anticipated tradition in the Edinburg community for decades,” said Ronnie Larralde, Executive Director, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. “This year’s recipients have demonstrated commitment to its community, improved the quality of life in Edinburg through volunteerism, and commitment to civic endeavors.”
Nominees are reviewed by a selection committee made up of members of the Board of Directors, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, and community leaders.
“Obviously, all the individuals nominated were great individuals who have demonstrated a lot of leadership, civic engagements and community hours outside their responsibilities at work,” Larralde said. “They’re all deserving, it was a tough decision, but the selection committee went with Dr. Gómez-Martínez for 2021 Woman of the Year.”
Hiren Govind, business owner of Towneplace Suites by Marriott Edinburg and Best Western Plus Edinburg, as well as President, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, was named 2021 Man of the Year by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce.
“Hiren Govind’s love for his community can be seen in his generous acts. For over 20 years, Govind has partnered with the Edinburg Fire Department and has donated stays for Edinburg residents who have lost their homes due to house fires,” Larralde recalled. “When the unprecedented 2021 Texas winter freeze devastated the region, Hiren Govind worked to provide more than 200 warm meals to our community. Most recently, he showed his support to the U.S. National Guard by opening his hotel properties to them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This provided support to regional hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Gómez-Martínez – a 2002 graduate of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston – remains a visible figure and positive role model in helping direct or influence COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the region.
On Thursday, July 29, 2021, Gómez-Martínez generated considerable attention in the Rio Grande Valley, when she was featured in the mainstream and social media in a public service announcement urging the region’s residents to protect themselves – and healthcare workers – from what at the time was a surging wave of COVID-19 infections.
“It’s been a very hard year, almost year-and-a-half, working really, really long hours, worrying about am I going to get infected, more important, am I going to bring this home and infect my family. Will someone from my family die because I am putting myself a risk for others?” she solemnly reflected.
The effects of COVID-19 had continued to be felt throughout Hidalgo County, and the arrival in the summer 2021 of the Delta variant had doctors urging residents to get vaccinated and wear their masks, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortéz stated in his July 29, 2021 news release.
“It’s been a whirlwind. We can all work together to try to end this, or just make a lot more feasible to get through. We’ve lost so many lives. It’s been so hard, crying with patients, crying with families, crying at
home, breaking down because of the stress that we endured as health care providers, trying to help our community to the best of our abilities,” Gómez-Martínez said. “It’s been very tough seeing this uptick, just brings back all of those memories, all those lost hard hours not seeing our families. I just hope we can come together as a community to get through this. Get vaccinated. Wear your masks.”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EjfHw5BCXX-JG9jt3m3zjItFIWmJyv6y/view
“I hope our county residents will watch and listen to Dr. Gómez-Martínez’ first-hand account of what she experienced this past year and take her words to heart,” said Cortéz. “We can stop this virus from spreading by getting the COVID-19 vaccine, which is free and available at many doctors’ offices, pharmacies and hospitals. Together we can end this pandemic.”
Five months after receiving the Woman of the Year honor in mid-October 2021, Gómez-Martínez, along with thousands of her colleagues, and medical and health professionals at DHR Health, continue on the front lines of the ongoing battle against COVID-19.
“You probably know her out in the community. She’s been to several of the local Edinburg schools to help with vaccinations,” said Marcy Martínez, Director of Public Relations and Corporate Communications, DHR Health. “In fact, she has been at the forefront of our vaccine clinic here at DHR, where we have vaccinated more than 270,000 people (as of early December 2021) for COVID-19.”
https://www.facebook.com/DHRhealth/videos/194381362813451
In early October 2021, a few days before the Under The Neon Moon Installation and Awards Banquet on Thursday, October 14, 2021, Larralde and several other leaders with the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce paid a visit to Gómez-Martínez at the DHR Health Edinburg CISD School Based Health Center.
Bearing a bouquet of flowers, Larralde explained the group’s presence to a visibly-surprised, then appreciative, Gómez-Martínez.
“I am the Executive Director of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, and we are here to congratulate you. You have been nominated and selected as the 2021 Woman of the Year,” he told the gathering. “Thank you for your leadership, your civic engagement, even outside of the health and hospital worlds. You give a lot of your time, and we appreciate that.”
Among her many contributions to the region provided by Gómez-Martínez for which she was honored are:
• Throughout Gómez-Martínez’ career, she has demonstrated outstanding care for her community. An example of this was when she organized and participated in a free flu vaccine clinic in the colonias for low-income children of Edinburg, working with Catholic leaders and various local charity leaders.
Colonias are substandard housing developments, often found along the Texas-Mexico border, where residents lack basic services such as drinking water, sewage treatment, and paved roads.
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/divisions/colonias
• In May 2021, she helped raise money for the American Cancer Society by successfully completing the Cancer Research Month 40 Mile Walk Challenge, walking 90 miles.
• Gómez-Martínez has been a Girl Scout volunteer for the last 10 years. She is a Girl Scout Troop Leader in the Edinburg chapter of Girl Scout troops, the Edinburg Service Unit, which oversees all the Girl Scout units in Edinburg, as well as with Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas. For her valuable donated services, she has received the President’s Volunteer Service award, gold and silver levels, for the past three years, accumulating close to 2,000 community service hours in the last four years.
Gómez-Martínez also praised the impact of the Girls Scouts on the future of deep South Texas.
“Right there is another team of women who are also troop leaders and community leaders — who help the girls in this community grow up to be strong leaders and learn different skills,” she told Xavier Salinas, a journalist withmyRGVnews.com (The Monitor, The Valley Morning Star, and The Brownsville Herald).
In its Facebook posting about Gómez-Martínez when the announcement was made about her civic honor, officials with Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas provided their own endorsement.
“She is the very proud Troop Leader of Troop #059 and has served as an enthusiastic and devoted volunteer of Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas for over 10 years, including her continued service as the Edinburg Service Unit Treasurer and Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas Leader Delegate. She exemplifies the definition of G.I.R.L (Go-Getter – Innovator – Risk Taker – Leader),” the posting stated.
“Dr. Gómez-Martínez empowers our community’s youth to pursue careers in STEM, having participated in DHR Health Institute for Research and Development’s first summer program, the Junior Clinical Research Internship,” Larralde added.
She credited the many people who work with her for her professional and community service successes.
“Everything that I do, I do it with other teams, and this is my biggest and best team right here,” paying tribute to her colleagues at the DHR Health Edinburg CISD School Based Health Center, located at 1601 E Sprague Street, just off the access road to Interstate Highway 69.
So, this is an award that’s shared with you all, with my family and other community members,” Gómez-Martínez said. “I do what I do just because I love to do it.”
Anchored in southwest Edinburg on a 130-acre site, with a growing presence in neighboring McAllen, Rio Grande City, Mission, and Brownsville, DHR Health offers some of the most comprehensive medical care on the U.S. southern border, with more than 1,400 nurses and other health professionals, plus an additional 600+ physicians providing care in 70+ specialties and sub-specialties.
DHR Health is the flagship teaching hospital for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine and encompasses a general acute hospital with the only dedicated women’s hospital south of San Antonio, a rehabilitation hospital, a behavioral hospital, more than 70 clinics Valley-wide, advanced cancer services, the only transplant program in the Rio Grande Valley – and as of September 8, 2021, the only 24/7 Level One Trauma Center south of San Antonio.
On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, Driscoll Health System, in partnership with DHR Health, held a groundbreaking ceremony for Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley, located at 2820 W. Michaelangelo Drive in Edinburg, which is being built on the site of the DHR Health campus, next to DHR Health’s The Women’s Hospital at Renaissance.
The new, independently operated, eight-level pediatric hospital will further the mission of Driscoll Children’s Hospital founder Clara Driscoll to provide medical care to all the children of South Texas. The building is expected to be completed in Spring 2023.
The facility represents a combined investment of more than $105 million. Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley will operate with more than 500 employees, creating significant economic impact and new job opportunities for clinical, ancillary and support staff in the Valley.
Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, Ltd (“DHR”) and its general partner, RGV Med, Inc. (“RGV Med”) own and operate a 519 licensed bed general acute care hospital located at 5501 South McColl in Edinburg. The facility is one of the largest physician-owned facilities in the United States that began as an ambulatory surgery center in 1997.
HIDALGO COUNTY PLEDGES $2 MILLION TO SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE NURSING AND ALLIED HEALTH
South Texas College graduates more nurses than all colleges statewide but it’s not enough, according to STC President Dr. Ricardo J. Solis.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortéz, Solis, Texas Workforce Commissioner of Labor Julian Álvarez, STC trustees and administrators gathered for a check signing and celebration at STC’s Nursing and Allied Health Campus on Monday, February 14, 2022.
STC trustees at the event included Chair Rose Benavidez, Vice Chair Alejo Salinas, Paul Rodríguez and Danny Guzmán.
VIPs in attendance included Hidalgo County Commissioner Eddie Cantú, McAllen Commissioner Pepe Cabeza de Vaca and Trancasa CEO Carlos Canales.
Hidalgo County announced that it will pledge $2 million to fund salaries for nursing instructors in an effort to increase enrollment and double the number of nurses graduating from South Texas College.
“We are thankful for Judge Cortéz’ wisdom in supporting this. We need to take risks and be bold, and that is exactly what we are doing here today,” Solis said. “It is the epitome of what collaboration is Valley-wide, and being put directly into what is necessary to take care of the health needs of the community and to increase the capacity of our students.”
When she began in the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program at South Texas College, Kayla Cantú said she was pleasantly surprised to learn that the college emphasized the community aspect of the job just as much as the fundamentals.
This appeal to community and helping those who are most in need adds another level of pride, Cantú said, as every day she arrived at an institution where she can be a part of something greater.
“I am definitely cheering on the college to bring in more students and expand their pipeline that way more people get the opportunity to experience this and develop their education the way I have been lucky to do so,” Cantú said. “It definitely gives me a sense of pride and it made me feel really good about what I’m doing and all the hard work I have putting into this career. It makes me feel very brave and lucky to be here so we can help our community and help those who are most in need. It’s definitely inspiring to come to a school where it’s not just about you, it’s about the bigger picture and being a part of that. It’s a great feeling.”
STC is the largest provider of combined nurses (LVN to RN) not just in the region but among all community colleges statewide graduating 463 nurses in 2021, Solis said, which has now prompted the college to reset its initial goal.
The plan now is to increase the amount of graduating nurses to at least 500 a year, and be the number one provider in Texas among colleges as well as universities within two years in order to meet the needs of health care partners.
“South Texas College graduates more nurses than all the other Valley institutions of higher education put together but it’s not enough. This generous donation will allow us to double our nursing graduation numbers over the next three years,” said President Solis. “It’s a great day for the nursing program, the nursing industry and for the Rio Grande Valley!”
The statistics for the future demand for registered nurses in Texas within a decade are sobering. While the supply of registered nurses in Texas is expected to grow by 30.5 percent to 291,872, actual demand will grow by 38.8 percent to 348,883, leaving a deficit of 57,012 RNs statewide, according to Texas Department of State Health Services.
“Hidalgo County is the eighth largest county in Texas and is growing very rapidly along with others across the state, but we are unique in many ways, and blessed in many ways, but handicapped in others,” Cortéz said. “One of the things that is essential in the Rio Grande Valley, particularly in Hidalgo County, is to build the human capital and build it well. What better way to not only build that human capital through the creation of knowledge and skills by people taking care of other people. I believe that what defines a great community is what we can do for one another…there has been a tremendous shortage of what this institution does so well.”
Álvarez said TWC commissioners are still looking to take action for individuals in the health care industry, which is among the top three filers of unemployment insurance in the state.
TWC has been working with South Texas College and local hospitals to look at ways to increase capacity and is proposing $10 million to pay for students’ clinical rotations, which are the hands-on, on-site portion of nursing school.
Also on the table is possibly developing a Texas Rising Star provider to develop child care in a hospital setting in order to support working parents, Álvarez said.
“As we are graduating them (students) we are finding that many of them are going under employment; they are quitting their job,” Álvarez said. “It’s important to not let what’s happening out there affect your decision to do what you are doing. What I love about this institution of higher ed is that you have a great leader and you have great trustees who are doing the work to make sure we are all successful.”
STC administrators at Nursing and Allied Health say a three-pronged approach to pathways, infrastructure and support are the things that are done exceptionally well at South Texas College.
“The reason why we are committed to produce safe and competent nurses is to address these health care needs, not just in our region but throughout the state. We are committed to our community, said Dr. Jayson Valerio, Dean of Nursing and Allied Health.
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Joey Gómez and Illiana Luna contributed to this report. For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, please log on to Titans of the Texas Legislature (TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com).
