Hernandez: Pharr city leaders and DHR Health have a lot in common. For one thing we are risk-takers.

Good morning. Bienvenidos. Welcome to the great City of Pharr. 

Senator (Juan Hinojosa). Chairman (Dr. Carlos Cardenas) chairman of the board, and the CEO (Dr. Manish Singh), and Mr. (Alonzo) Cantu and everybody (from DHR) and my great leaders in the City of Pharr, which happen to be all my employees. They are the heart and soul of the city of Pharr. Welcome to this great adventure for us, because that’s what we call it. 

You know, the city of Pharr. Mr. Chairman, just so you know, I know you visited a lot of areas, but a little history of the city of Pharr. Why did we do this? There’s many cities in this area just around us, within a mile radius. You have the great city of McAllen, you have the great city of Edinburg, Mission, Alamo, all beautiful cities. All of them could have taken the opportunity to do this. 

The reason the City of Pharr chose to jump in on it is, we saw a great opportunity. We saw the fact that we have a lot of things in common with DHR. When DHR started, sir, it was a local surgery center, as they called it. But what really connects both of us, the City of Pharr leadership and DHR is the fact that, when DHR started they were doing something that was out of the norm. What people did not expect you to do. They were risk takers. They did something that nobody thought could be done. They did something that you know you really shouldn’t be doing if you look at the traditional routes.

In a similar way, the City of Pharr has manifested itself since 2015… we’ve always looked at great partnerships and doing what others will not do. Similar to DHR, the City of Pharr,  when we launch something for greatness, we do it not for recognition. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. That’s how we’re alike, those two organizations. We always do what’s best for our population, for our region indeed.

Mr. Chairman, I’ll just give you a few examples of what the city has done in partnership. For instance, Pharr was the first city to have its own EMS with a helicopter, with also a biplane and an ambulance, all in one, not just for the city of Pharr, but for the region. We did that. 

Whenever you do things that are different, you open yourself up, just like the DHR leadership, to criticism. But it’s because they (the critics) don’t have the fortitude or the ability or the fight to do it and take risks for the betterment of the community. That’s why we have partnered with DHR, because they’re always looking to see what is best, how can we best use our critical dollars, our assets on the ground, for the benefit of our residents. No different than the City of Pharr.

Mr. Chairman, the City of Pharr, for your knowledge… when COVID hit, for instance, we were vaccinating everybody. But DHR and the City of Pharr got together, we partnered with our leadership, and we said… it’s easy to go get a vaccine if you are able to get in a vehicle or just walk somewhere. But there were a lot of people that could not do that. We recognized through DHR, through our population base, that there were a lot of people that could not make it. The most vulnerable, the bed-ridden, those that didn’t have a car. I’m so grateful that the City of Pharr, with the strong EMS program that we had, and with DHR’s leadership, that we got those COVID vaccines, and we went to their homes. It had never been done in the state. other people followed and I am happy for it. But it was truly a novel way to approach things, to take care of our population, and that’s what we did together. Yet again, why we want to partner with DHR and their growth. They are Valley-wide but it’s not the growth that we care about. It’s the fact that they are very visionary, and they’re always pushing the envelope to see what is best. 

We also moved forward, as we found out through medicine, again, through the leadership of DHR, that we needed to deliver healthcare Valley-wide. But what was the barrier? One of the barriers actually was access. More specifically, you need broadband access. Some people can’t get it. The plans were (too expensive). It was an idea that DHR had brought up. But the City of Pharr took it a step further. Our leadership went in and completely routed… put all the infrastructure in, Mr. Chairman, for broadband. Google-fibered the entire city, on our own nickel. We did that because it’s the right thing, again, to do. So, that’s what we have (in terms of) common ground with DHR. That’s where we come together, always looking, again, forward, to see what we can do as a community, as a leader in our community, and with the health systems involved. 

So we’re very proud and we jumped at the opportunity (to partner on a new hospital). And want to thank the State of Texas, our senators, we want to thank you guys for giving the Rio Grande Valley the opportunity. And it goes without saying…I know he’s shy, he’s always trying to hide, but I know Mr. Cantu had very much a lot to do with it, with the Lieutenant Governor. So, Mr. Cantu, thank you for thinking about the Rio Grande Valley. 

So thank you, and welcome again and congratulations to DHR. Welcome to the great City of Pharr. 

Editor’s Note: The above commentary was provided by Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new DHR Health Behavioral Hospital, to be built in Pharr, Texas.

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