MCALLEN, Texas - Emma Maria Montes-Ewing, the new CEO of South Texas Health System McAllen, has given the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an exclusive video interview.
In the interview, Montes-Ewing discusses her upbringing in Peru, her early career as a licensed physical therapist assistant, her leadership of Doctors Hospital of Laredo, and her plans for STHS McAllen.
STHS McAllen is home to a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Comprehensive Stroke Center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit. It is the largest acute care facility in the STHS system, with 1,100-plus staff. Montes-Ewing, who has 20 years of healthcare leadership experience, is its first Latina CEO.
“It is a privilege to have been selected to lead STHS McAllen, and I look forward to working closely with staff and physicians at the facility to continue to provide nationally recognized healthcare at the highest level to the residents of the City of McAllen and its surrounding communities,” Montes-Ewing said.
“As an integrated network of care, South Texas Health System has a strong reputation in the community, and I’m honored and excited to usher in a new era of leadership at STHS McAllen to ensure that the hospital continues to serve patients, their families and the community with the quality, compassionate care.”
At Doctors Hospital of Laredo, Montes-Ewing won awards for building high-performing teams, developing service lines, increasing revenue and developing healthy organizational cultures. She was also recognized for attracting talent, driving overall performance and championing a high-quality patient experience.
Montes-Ewing said she is particularly proud to have won a service excellence award in Laredo. She said she plans to achieve the same high standards at the McAllen facility.
“You know, in a hospital like ours, that is so large, and that is focused on the trauma and focused on taking care of the most sick, sometimes patient experience tends to suffer a little bit. And that is going to be our goal, to really strengthen all the good things that are going on and to make sure when our patients come they perceive the best experience ever,” Montes-Ewing said.
Here is the interview:
https://youtu.be/xKNGTMLKLvQ
