WESLACO, Texas – Manny Vela, CEO of Valley Baptist Health System, says the Rio Grande Valley is officially 3,200 nurses short of requirement. And he expects the number to increase.
Vela was a panelist at a recent conference hosted by RGV LEAD. It was titled “State of Education & Industry in the Rio Grande Valley” and was held at the Knapp Medical Conference Center in Weslaco.
After the conference had ended the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service secured an exclusive video interview with Vela.
Asked how great the nursing shortage is, Vela said: “This is data that’s at least a year-plus old. The new data should be coming out in the next 30 days or so. But, at least one-plus year ago we were 30,000 nurses short in the state of Texas. Here in the Valley, specifically, we are about 3,200 short. That new data is going to come out soon and I am going to be surprised if those numbers don’t even go up higher. I really will be.”
Here is the interview:
Video
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series on Manny Vela’s take on the shortage of healthcare professionals in the Rio Grande Valley. Part Two will appear in our next edition.
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