Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Announcements
By Jennifer Berghom
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – UT Health RGV, the clinical practice of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, has formed a partnership with the UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics to offer healthcare services to the university’s student-athletes.
As part of the agreement, Dr. Jimmy Gonzales, MD, clinical assistant professor of Family Medicine, has been appointed the university’s NCAA Health Care Administrator for UTRGV Athletics.
“We are delighted to offer healthcare services to our student-athletes,” said Dr. John H. Krouse, executive vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “UT Health RGV is committed to providing the best care to all our students, so that they succeed on and off the court, field or other playing venue.”
‘‘The partnership with UT Health RGV serves to further elevate our investment in student health and welfare for our student-athletes.
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Under the agreement, UT Health RGV providers will handle all aspects of healthcare services for student-athletes, including:
- Sideline coverage for all full-contact and collision sports, such as men’s and women’s basketball and soccer.
- At minimum, on-call coverage for all non-contact and limited-contact collision sports, including men’s and women’s golf, track and field, cross country and baseball and women’s volleyball.
- Two scheduled half-day clinic sessions per week at UTRGV Athletics’ training facilities.
The agreement also calls for integrating sports medicine services at UT Health RGV’s primary care site on Jackson Road, which is scheduled to open in spring 2019, and establishing a sports medicine fellowship program to train primary care physicians in sports medicine.
“The partnership with UT Health RGV serves to further elevate our investment in student health and welfare for our student-athletes,” said Chris King, director of UTRGV Athletics. “The partnership provides direct access to medical services, as UT Health RGV team doctors and providers will handle healthcare services for our student-athletes. UT Health RGV already has made a big impact within our community, and intercollegiate athletics is excited to extend that impact to all of our student-athletes.”
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.