My office has filed legislation today that would create a medical school in the Rio Grande Valley. I filed House Bill 110 on the first day lawmakers are able to file legislation for the upcoming 81st Legislature which begins on January 13, 2009.
It is time for the Rio Grande Valley to begin training and educating its own doctors. The success of the medical research and education programs provided by the Regional Academic Health Center proves that we are ready for a full-fledged, stand-alone medical school.
The Texas Legislature established the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) as a medical education and research program serving Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy Counties. The Legislature specified that the RAHC would work with local hospitals to provide undergraduate clinical education, graduate education, including residency training programs, and other levels of medical education. The medical education component of the RAHC is based in Harlingen with Valley Baptist Medical Center serving as the primary teaching hospital for medical students receiving their 3rd and 4th year of education. The medical research division is located in Edinburg. The RAHC is administered by the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.
We have proven, working partnerships with Valley Baptist, the University of Texas Pan American, the cities of Edinburg and Harlingen and others. Now is the time for us to bring in the federal government and develop a veteran’s hospital to complement a medical school in the Rio Grande Valley. South Texas has the social, economic and human capital to make this succeed.
A recent report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recommends that the next medical school built in Texas should be in the Rio Grande Valley. For years Rio Grande Valley veterans have traveled to San Antonio to receive hospital services. As you may recall I have called on the federal government to join a coalition of state and local resources committed to providing care for our veterans while training and educating generations of home-grown doctors.
1 comments:
I cannot find anything about House Bill 159, but I do hope that you get it passed. Children need more time to just be children. Most children I know have schedules as scheduled as an adult.
Thanks!
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