DHR Health, hospitals praised for valiant effort during COVID pandemic disaster
By David A. Díaz
Special to the Advance
Four years after the first reported case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas was announced on March 4, 2020, many people still remember the fear, illnesses and deaths that took place, as well as the courage demonstrated by millions of Texans identified by the U.S. government as “essential workers” who kept society from falling apart during that disaster in the nation.
A pandemic is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals.
COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2. It can be very contagious and spreads quickly. More than one million people have died from COVID-19 in the United States between March 4, 2020 and July 10, 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 expired on Thursday, May 11, 2023. Preventing the spread of COVID-19 remains a public health priority.
The essential workers in the Lone Star State who risked their health and lives by remaining on the job during the darkest months of the pandemic – especially before even an emergency vaccine was developed ready for use in December 2020 – were honored in the Rio Grande Valley on Monday, March 4, 2024, at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, as part of the first-ever COVID-19 Heroes and Memorial Day state observance.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine became available under federal emergency use authorization in individuals 16 years of age and older on Friday, December 11, 2020.
Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen, was the author of House Bill 2166, Sen. Morgan LaMantia, D-South Padre Island, was the sponsor of that measure, and DHR Health helped lobby the Texas Legislature in 2023 for its passage, which established COVID-19 Heroes and Memorial Day.
House Bill 2166 received final approval by the Texas Legislature on Friday, May 26, 2023, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, and became state law on Friday, September 1, 2023.
“When the world shut down, you showed up,” said Dr. Manish Singh, MD, Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director, DHR Health, who praised essential workers during the public gathering, hosted by DHR Health at its Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance.
“Today we reflect on those tireless healthcare workers everywhere and the countless lives saved. Also, we remember those we lost and how much it impacted our community,” Singh explained.
Several hundred area essential employees, many in the medical professions and law enforcement, along with elected leaders and public officials, were in attendance at the mid-morning event, which was open to the public.
DHR Health operates two general acute hospitals, the only dedicated women’s hospital south of San Antonio, a rehabilitation hospital, a behavioral hospital, and more than 70 clinics Valley-wide.
DHR Health offers the most comprehensive and sophisticated healthcare services in the Rio Grande Valley including – but not limited to – advanced cancer services, the only transplant program in the Rio Grande Valley, and as of September 8, 2021, the first 24/7 Designated Level One Trauma Center south of San Antonio.
DHR Health alone was the Rio Grande Valley’s single largest vaccination hub, providing more than 300,000 vaccinations through the pandemic, noted John Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Hospital Association.
“While totally preventing community spread of COVID-19 was not realistic, hospitals embarked on an unprecedented venture alongside public health leaders to protect as many people as possible – rolling out massive vaccines campaigns, pumping out precaution messages, adjusting service lines to bend to new demands, launching programs to retain and find workers, administering new therapies and keeping the lights on during a total time of darkness,” Hawkins reported.
Hawkins was the keynote speaker during the inaugural COVID-19 Heroes and Memorial Day state observance held at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance.
“This day is critical because it establishes a clear moment in time to honor and recognize the contributions and sacrifices of Texans who played crucial roles during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hawkins. “March 4 also marks a time for us to memorialize the people in Texas who have lost their lives to COVID-19 since March 4, 2020 – the date the disease was first diagnosed in Texas. A day we will never forget.”
Founded in 1930, the Texas Hospital Association is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and health care systems. Based in Austin, THA enhances its members’ abilities to improve accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care for all Texans. One of the largest hospital associations in the country, THA represents more than 85 percent of the state’s acute-care hospitals and health care systems, which employ more than 400,000 health care professionals statewide.
“The Rio Grande Valley was particularly hit hard by COVID-19,” Hawkins noted.
“Local hospitals were flooded with patients amid supply shortages and other unknowns. Fortunately for you all, the vigorous community spirit of the Valley was a force to be reckoned with,” he continued. “Hospitals moved fast to brace for surges. Over the course of the pandemic, Valley hospitals converted units, ORs, clinics, cafeterias and other spaces into COVID-19 units, and added more than 700 new beds to handle surges. Local hospitals became community vaccination centers.”
DHR Health and every major hospital in the Lone Star State were asked to do the impossible, Hawkins said, and those medical systems statewide answered the desperate call.
“Exemplifying the spirit of community, Valley hospitals established a regional collaborative to provide convalescent plasma to area hospitals, share information, discuss best practices, and forecast new challenges and how to best prepare,” Hawkins said. “Over the course of time, the region would mourn more than 6,000 (six thousand) deaths due to COVID-19 – and heroes emerged from all corners of the community.”
A total of 8,447,168 COVID-19 cases had been reported in Texas between March 4, 2020 through Spring 2023. At least one in 307 residents have died from the coronavirus, at total of 94,581 deaths as of March 23, 2023, according to the New York Times.
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Díaz’s email is Legislative media@aol.com
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For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, visit TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com.