By Jennifer Berghom
San Juan, Texas – Family medicine residents and first-year medical students from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley participated recently in Operation Lone Star at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School.
Operation Lone Star, which ran from July 23-27, is an annual emergency preparedness event that offers public healthcare services for South Texas communities, including physicals, sports physicals, immunizations and screenings for diabetes, blood pressure and vision. Some locations also offered eye and dental exams.
Medical residents from the UTRGV School of Medicine’s three Family Medicine residency programs provided healthcare services to patients, and medical students observed and assisted healthcare providers on Wednesday, July 25, and Thursday, July 26.
Participating in Operation Lone Star offers the School of Medicine another opportunity to fulfill its mission to engage with the community, expand access to health care services and provide excellent care to patients.
The Texas Department of State Health Services runs the weeklong exercise in partnership with the Texas State Guard Medical Brigade and local health departments. This year, Operation Lone Star conducted the exercises in six locations throughout Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Webb counties.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.
