Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick visits the new Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley

5 months ago 146

EDINBURG, Texas – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick visited Edinburg on Saturday, April 20, to tour the eagerly-awaited new Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley.

The new eight-story, $100 million hospital is located at 2820 W. Michelangelo Drive in Edinburg, in the middle of the DHR Health campus.

Slated to open May 1, it will become the first designated freestanding children’s hospital in the Valley, a medically underserved area facing a shortage of pediatricians. It will open with 119 pediatric beds and 700 employees.

At a press conference with Driscoll leadership, physicians and staff, Lt. Gov. Patrick spoke about his fondness for the Valley and about the importance of opening a new children’s hospital in Edinburg.

“This is going to be an answer to prayer. You don’t have to go to Corpus and stay overnight,” Patrick said, referring to the long drive patients in the Valley had to make to receive care at Driscoll Children’s Hospital Corpus Christi, the nearest specialty acute care hospital for kids.

“Now you have a place in the Valley that they can go to. And their families can have hope and they have the care that they need. It’s really significant,” Patrick said.

Citing the fact that the new hospital would become the 33rd freestanding children’s hospital in the entire U.S. and the fifth in Texas, Lt. Gov. Patrick said people would look back 30 years from now and recognize the opening of the hospital as historic.

Driscoll CEO Eric Hamon said he was proud show Lt. Gov. Patrick the new children’s hospital. “Our vision to never turn a child away is growing eight stories taller,” Hamon quipped.

State Sen. Juan Hinojosa introduced Patrick to the podium. He thanked Patrick and state Sen. Charles Schwertner, an orthopedic surgeon, for visiting the Valley and touring the new facility. Schwertner, whose work brings him to the Valley on a regular basis, was in the audience.

“I was present at the groundbreaking ceremony in November 2021 for this $105 million, eight-story hospital and am honored to have been among the first to witness the completed facility, which will open its doors to the community on May 1,” Hinojosa said.

“This marks a significant milestone for the Rio Grande Valley and, most importantly, for our children. Healthcare is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Our children rely on our protection and deserve the best care possible. Driscoll Children’s Hospital is known for its great care, cutting-edge medical technology, and top-tier surgeons, doctors, and medical professionals in the State of Texas.”

Hinojosa predicted Driscoll’s board of directors, leadership team, and medical staff will work tirelessly to keep the Valley’s children healthy.

According to a study by The Perryman Group, the new hospital will generate $124.7 million per year in economic growth to Texas.

Matt Wolthoff is president of Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley. He said: “The opening of this hospital will be instrumental in improving access to pediatric specialty care for families in the Rio Grande Valley. Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley, and the many pediatric subspecialists that will work in it, represent an entirely new level of services previously unavailable close to home.”

For many the star of the press conference was five-year-old Tialy Elaine Martinez. The Valley native has PHACE syndrome, a condition that affects the brain and heart. Up until now it has required her to have regular treatment at Driscoll’s Children Hospital Corpus Christi. Tialy and her mother Iliana were asked to come to the stage.

“We had to travel to Driscoll in Corpus, it was a very challenging moment because we had to leave our families and our home and stay for more than four months in Corpus,” Iiana Martinez said.

“Having our very own Driscoll here in the Rio Grande Valley is just a blessing… we are so glad, we are so happy that we have our very own Driscoll that we can call home from now on.”

During his tour of the new facility with the Martinez family, Lt. Gov. Patrick asked Driscoll staff to make sure Tialy gets to pick whatever she wants from the hospital gift shop.