Vera: I never thought I would see a medical residency program in Starr County

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas – If anyone had asked Starr County Judge Eloy Vera if he ever thought he would see a medical residency program in his county, he would have said, never.

Vera thanked DHR and its CEO, Dr. Manish Singh, in his 2025 State of the County Address. The event was held at the Julabe Events Center in Rio Grande City on April 1.

“Another project is the DHR medical complex that’s being built off of (FM) 3167 across from Starr County Memorial Hospital. This development will not only bring high-paying jobs but will also bring in much needed specialty clinics, specialty medical services, that will complement our local medical services,” Vera said.

“In addition, this development will bring a residency program for young doctors. This is truly a game changer. If you had asked me if I would ever see a residency program in Start County in my lifetime, I would say never. And yet, here we are about to get it.”

The great thing about a medical residency program, Vera said, is that the trainee doctors tend to stay in the community.

“Our local medical community has done an exceptional job in providing medical services to our community. However, our doctor-to-patient ratio is far below think the state and federal average. Therefore, by bringing the residency program, it is expected that some of these young doctors will stay in Starr County,” Vera said.

“It has been proven through statistics that residency doctors usually try to stay in the area where they did their residency. So that’s what we’re hoping for.”

Starr County Commissioners Court believes in the DHR project so much it has agreed to pump in more than $1 million, the judge explained.

“I sincerely thank Dr. Singh and DHR for their commitment to invest and improve our medical services in Starr County. The Commissioners Court has committed to invest a million dollars, or over a million dollars, towards this project to ensure its success.”

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