Hidalgo County Precinct 4 and UT Health RGV held ribbon cutting ceremony for UT Health RGV AHEC Primary Care Annex Building
Edinburg TX, May 24, 2023 — Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres and UT Health RGV hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the UT Health RGV AHEC Primary Care Annex Building. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the clinic location at 230 86th Street in Edinburg, Texas.
“Since the grand opening of the UT Health RGV AHEC Primary Care Program at San Carlos in November 2019, the clinic has been extremely successful,” stated Commissioner Torres. “The community of San Carlos was in need of accessible and affordable primary health care. It has been incredible the number of people that have used this facility in a short period of time.” The UT Health RGV AHEC Program has provided 8,000 individuals with primary health care with over 25,000 patient visits to date.
The program also serves to provide UTRGV students field training in various areas of specialty. “Over 250 AHEC scholars, students from medicine, nursing, physician assistant, social work and other disciplines have gone through the AHEC clinics seeing the wonders of medicine in action. Over 20 medical residents have learned with the AHEC Program in this community. First-year medical students have also gone through the AHEC Clinic. It’s all about teamwork and the partnerships with everyone.” said Dr. John Ronnau – senior associate dean for Community Health Partnerships and director and principal investigator for the AHEC Program.
“The addition of a 1,200-sf annex will provide much needed space for primary care, women’s health, behavioral, social services that are in high demand. The expansion is made possible through the generous support of Hidalgo County Commissioner, Ms. Ellie Torres, Precinct 4,” Ronnau said. “In addition to primary health care at an affordable cost, the AHEC provides education and training opportunities for UTRGV students and residents.”
The UT Health RGV AHEC Program staff and students are excited to provide more patients with primary health care in the rural area of San Carlos.
The UT Health RGV AHEC clinic is staffed with UTRGV School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Social Work and College of Health Professions faculty and students to provide family medicine, acute and chronic illness care, health screenings, physical exams, immunizations and preventive care.
Improvements to the area are also forthcoming that include additional parking and lighting to accommodate visitors.
For more information, please contact Dr. Jennifer Mendoza Culbertson, Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Chief of Staff for Internal Affairs at (956) 383-3112 or via email at [email protected].