MISSION, Texas - An in-depth discussion on healthcare in the Rio Grande Valley took place at a recent conference hosted jointly by Western Governors University and AltaCair.
The WGU/AltaCair event was titled “Accelerator 2023 RGV Health Equity Conference.” It was held at Mission Event Center.
In their program notes, WGU/AltaCair explained why they hosted the conference.
“The RGV region has 24.7 percent of familiars living below the poverty level, nearly triple the percentage for the United States, according to the RGV Health Connect Organization. The population struggle with diabetes, obesity, and cervical cancer among other health issues. The Rio Grande Regional Hospital states that an estimated 76,000 people in the region have diabetes. The COVID-19 pandemic further augmented the challenges of RGV with economic depressions and heightened inequities. The four RGV counties - Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron counties - are among the poorest counties in the nation and access to healthcare is unaffordable for many residents.”
Dr. Rashmi Chandran, of AltaCair Foundations, described AltaCair as an "advanced healthcare solutions company." Chandran said the company aims to "realign care and efficiency." AltaCair Foundations, meanwhile, is the company's nonprofit arm that "aims to address basic health needs in unserved and underserved communities, as well as reintegrate the homeless and immigrant patients back into the community."
The title for one of the panel discussion was, “Translating the Data - Celebrating the Impact in the Valley.”
The four panelists were: Dr. Jose F. Peña, CEO of RGV ACO, Kaizen Clinical Partners ; Dr. Sheila Magoon, CEO of South Texas Physican Alliance and Buena Vida and Salud ACO ; Dr. Monzer Yazji, CEO of ASAS Health & South Texas Clinical Partners ACO; and Dr. Daniel Tamez, executive vice president of DHR Health System.
The moderator was Edwin F. Estevez, co-founder and principal at AltaCair and market president at Prominence Health.
Here is an audio recording of the panel discussion.
