By Jennifer Berghom
EDINBURG, TEXAS – OCT. 2, 2018 – The City of Edinburg continued its support of the UTRGV School of Medicine by presenting a check to School of Medicine officials Friday, Sept. 28, during a gathering in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center on the UTRGV Edinburg Campus.
The City of Edinburg, along with other localities, previously offered to donate money annually to support the School of Medicine as part of a memorandum of understanding UTRGV signed with those local governments. The City of Edinburg has committed to give $1 million annually to the School of Medicine.
Dr. John H. Krouse, executive vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, thanked city officials and said the funds will be used to support faculty recruitment and the School of Medicine’s medical education program, including student support services and curriculum development.
“We will use the funds from the City to continue to educate the best and the brightest and to prepare that next group of physicians for the Valley,” he said. “We will use it to expand access to high quality healthcare. We know that the Valley is among the areas in the country that has the poorest access to care, and we, with your partnership, are committed to changing that so that all of your citizens will have access to care.”
Krouse also updated city officials and others in attendance on current projects the university and School of Medicine are developing, such as a Team-Based Learning Center on the Edinburg campus and a clinical site on Jackson Road, which will offer primary and specialty care.
The School of Medicine now has 350 employees, including more than 110 faculty members, and 170 medical residents serving in the School of Medicine’s nine residency programs. Of the residents who have graduated from the residency programs, 64 percent have stayed in the Valley to practice medicine, Krouse said.
Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina said he looks forward to continuing the partnership between the city and the School of Medicine.
“The presence of the UTRGV School of Medicine continues to bring great things to Edinburg,” Molina said. “We are educating a new generation of health care providers for our community, shining a light on our region through our groundbreaking research and providing much needed care for the most needy.
“The council and I recognize that fact that the UTRGV School of Medicine is expanding the type of healthcare and quality of healthcare that’s needed by our Edinburg families and our families not only here but all over the Rio Grande Valley.”
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CONTACT
Sofia.Hernandez@UTRGV.edu
UTRGV School of Medicine Chief of Staff/956-296-1995
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.
