Friday, May 28, 2021
By Victoria Brito Morales
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – Dr. Eloisa Tamez, professor of Nursing at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, is a newly appointed member of a national advisory board to aid veterans.
Tamez, who is a veteran and a former chief nurse executive at various Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, will serve on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Disability Compensation. This committee is intended to provide advice to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on establishing and supervising a schedule to conduct periodic reviews of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities.
These advisory committees are a key component of the department to achieve stakeholder and public engagement in its efforts and commitment to serve veterans.
Based on her experience working with diverse groups of veterans, Tamez self-nominated herself for this committee.
“Because I am a veteran and because we need representation from women in those committees, I decided I wanted to do this,” Tamez said. “I felt like I could serve the veterans in this capacity in a meaningful way for the best outcomes.”
In June, Tamez will attend her first official meeting with the committee.
“I am very excited because I have been wanting to do this for a long time and my service with the VA was very special to me,” she said. “It was the service to the veterans that was most special to me and to be able to continue to serve them in this manner is what’s really an honor and a gift.”
ABOUT DVAACDC
The DVAACDC’s goal is to provide advice to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on establishing and supervising a schedule to conduct periodic reviews of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD).
Established by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (P.L. 92-463), all advisory committees fall under the jurisdiction of the Advisory Management Office (ACMO) with a mission to provide guidance and support to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. These advisory committees are a key component of the DVA to achieve stakeholder and public engagement it is efforts and commitment to serve Veterans.
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.