EDINBURG, Texas - DHR Health’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has earned an elite certification held by only one percent of hospitals nationwide.
The Disease Specific Certification in Respiratory Failure was awarded by the Joint Commission, a respected independent non-profit organization that ensures healthcare organizations meet the highest standards for patient care, safety, and operational effectiveness.
DHR is the only facility in the Rio Grande Valley to receive this distinction.
The decision to pursue this rigorous certification was voluntary, driven by the ICU Interprofessional Team's dedication to the health and well-being of the community they serve. The Interprofessional Team is comprised of DHR Health team members from various medical disciplines. They worked together over the past three years to meet and exceed the demanding standards required for this prestigious recognition.
“It’s very important for our community to understand the real meaning of this certification,” Dr. Juan Chavez Paz, ICU medical director said. “This was a voluntary application. We were not forced to achieve this. We were not forced to apply for this we did it because we wanted to show everybody that we belong among the elite.”
Dr. Chavez Paz described how the road to the certification was paved.
“This is a process. It started as our worries and as our fears as we confront COVID years ago,” Chavez Paz said. “We knew how hard it was to save patients with COVID. And patients with COVID die because of respiratory failure. We focused our team efforts to see what can be done by each of the professionals working for our patients because please, don’t ever forget it’s not just Dr. Lopez, he’s just one piece of it. There are nurses by our side, there is physical therapists, respiratory therapists, dieticians, case managers. There are people working on helping us, giving the information, statistics. There are the chaplains. There are so many people taking care of one human being.”
Dr. Chavez Paz expressed what the next step for the team and DHR Health is.
“Everything started with a simple question, ‘What can we do to make things better?’,” Chavez Paz said. “This is just the beginning and for us our beginning is to be part of the one percent. We’re looking to be even better from there and keep working to be and represent the highest standard of care for the state of Texas and, why not, further south.”
Marissa Castañeda, senior executive vice president at DHR Health, conveyed what the recognition means to DHR Health.
“With this accomplishment DHR Health is now one of 68 hospitals out of more than 6,200 hospitals in the nation who holds this recognition,” Castañeda said. “And we are the only hospital in the Rio Grande Valley and in South Texas to have this distinction.”
She noted the Joint Commission surveying team was surprised by DHR Health and its team.
“When the surveyors were here, they said, ‘DHR Health is a unicorn. This is something we have not seen done before. That you all could come together and make this happen in such a way that was so collaborative.’,” Castañeda said.
Members of the ICU Interprofessional Team include:
o Dr. Juan Marcos Chavez Paz, ICU Medical Director
o Ana Martinez, ICU Senior Director
o Gilberto Botello Bucio, ICU/CCU Administrative Assistant
o Yvette Alaniz, ICU Clinical Coordinator
o Daniel Dizon, ICU Clinical Coordinator
o Benjamin Yeboah, RN Educator-Critical Care Services
o Jose Garza, Cardiopulmonary Services Director
o Steve Rodriguez, Critical Care Clinical Pharmacist
o Randee Jackson, Director of Resources Management
o Ari Garza, Dietician
o Nathan Dunn, Director of Rehabilitation Therapy Services
o Samuel Lopez, Acute Therapy Supervisor
