Optimism. Hope. That’s what you hear these days in the voice of Ivan Melendez, M.D., who not only still runs his own private internal medicine practice, but works as the medical director (Health Authority) for Hidalgo County, and has done so since 2011 when life was much simpler and more pleasant for the public at large. When The Advance published its first story on Melendez back in July 2020, the weariness in his voice was unmistakable. Not only was he working nearly non-stop visiting area hospitals as the medical authority to get a handle on how Hidalgo County was dealing with ...