Patriarca: Momentous occasion for UTRGV School of Medicine

My name is Mike Patriarca, senior associate vice president and executive director for UT Health RGV. 

First, thank you Dr. (John) Krouse (dean of UT-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine). One of the primary reasons we are standing here today is due to the strategic direction and roadmap laid out by both you and Dr. (Guy) Bailey (president of UT-Rio Grande Valley).

Thanks to all of you for being here with us this evening. This truly is a momentous occasion for UT-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. A special thanks to everyone, both present and not, who have contributed to the vision that made our medical school a reality. Every grand opening or next “first” we have, represents decades of hard work by so many.

According to the American Association of Medical Colleges “Medical schools and teaching hospitals educate the next generation of  physicians, conduct cutting edge research that saves lives, and care for the tickets and most medically complex patients. That’s the value of Academic Medicine.”

So what does this mean for the Rio Grande Valley? How does the RGV see the value of academic medicine? At UT Health RGV, the clinical practice of the UTRGV School of Medicine, we deliver on the value of academic medicine by delivering a transformational quality of healthcare by board certified and fellowship trained providers across the full spectrum of medical specialties, some of which the TGV has never had before. At this location, UT Health RGV Multi-Speciality, our 20th clinical site, patients will have access to orthopedics, plastic surgery, ENT, endocrine, primary and urgent care, imaging services, OBGYN, and vision clinical services all in one location. Access to these clinical specialties, combined with minimal wait times, a dedication to the patient experience and patient satisfaction, and a standard of care that is second to none is what academic medicine brings to our community and what our patients can expect to receive at this site.

Of course, this outstanding facility that we are standing in today is not possible without an amazing team who put all of this together. I would be remiss not to mention a few of our teams and staff that have worked tirelessly to make this site a reality.

• Our clinical leadership, finance and administration, IT and operations teams, led by Dr. Linda Nelson, Godfrey Ovwhigo, Melba Sanchez, and Marivel Barrera, all of which worked tirelessly to get this space operational on an accelerated timeline. Due to this work, I now have a theory that Dr. Linda Nelson has a clone running around the Valley somewhere, as I am still trying to figure out exactly how she does it all!
• Our Faculty, clinical providers and Chairs. Time spent in the design of this site, weekends spent getting the clinic up to par and the dedication you give to our patients, students and residents is at the heart of the School of Medicine mission. Some of you have joined us from far off places, some of you have trained at our residency programs, we can’t deliver on our mission to the RGV community without each of you. 

On that note, I’d like to introduce you to the providers we will have practicing at this site:

Surgery:

Dr. Rachel Giese, head and neck cancer surgery

Dr. Paul Berry, plastic surgery

Dr. Nausheen Jamal, ear, note and throat - laryngology

Dr. Frank Gerold - orthopedics (hand)

Dr. Mike Lago - pediatrics orthopedics

Dr. Henry Reinhart - endocrine surgery

Family Medicine:

Dr. Curtis Galke - Chair of Family Medicine

Dr. Veronica Salazar - Family Medicine

Dr. Laura Manzanilla Luberti - Family Medicine

Dr. Kristn Diaz Rios - Family Medicine

Dr. Deepu George - Integrated Behavioral Health

OB:

Dr. Saul Rivas - OB/GYN

Dr. Denis De Los Santos - OB/GYN

Dr. Pamela Parker - OB/GYN

Vision:

Dr. Julie Anderson, Optometry

Dr. Sawyer Lambert, Optometry

• And a big thanks to our facilities and real estate team, who with our contractor, D. Wilson, took an old vacant shell building and turned it into this beautiful site we have today. A special thanks to our UT Health RGV facilities lead, Mr. James Rodriguez, we are very lucky to have your on our team.

In closing, please tale a tour around the facility, but don’t get lost! Spend some time talking to the staff or providers that are here tonight. We are very excited about this and the impact we hope to have have in the community.

Editor's Note: The above commentary was given by Mike Patriarca, senior associate vice president and executive director for UT Health RGV, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Multi-Specialty Clinic that has opened on South Jackson in Edinburg.

Editor's Note: The above commentary is the first in a three-part series on the new clinic. Part Two, featuring Dr. John Krouse, dean of UTRGV School of Medicine, will be posted later this week.