University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

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Legislators from all over Texas and members of their staffs were in the Valley as part of the Rio Grande Partnership’s 2017 Legislative Tour, where they learned about issues facing the Valley.
Dr. Leonel Vela, UTRGV School of Medicine senior associate dean for Education and Academic Affairs, sat on the panel that asked legislators to consider continuing their support for healthy, sustainable communities both locally and at the state level by funding more residency slots at the UTRGV School of Medicine, and supporting the continuation of the Medicaid 1115 Waiver. https://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2017/january-27-utrgv-area-healthcare-leaders-provide-update-for-state-legislators/index.htm

Sufficient residency slots in UTRGV’s medical school are critical to addressing and advancing health in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, which is a highly populous but medically underserved area. The U.N. SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being, states that “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development,” and U.N. SDG 4: Quality Education, states that in addition to improving quality of life, "access to inclusive education can help equip locals with the tools required to develop innovative solutions to the world’s greatest problems.”

According to the white paper reference below, in Hidalgo County (where UTRGV Edinburg campus resides) the patient-doctor ratio is 2,230 patients to 1 doctor. The population of the RGV now totals 1.3 million, similar to the city population of San Antonio. However, our economic growth has outpaced income growth and we lag in wage performance. "For example, Texas’ poverty rate is 14.7%, but the poverty rates in the RGV counties are double that figure.”
(White Paper - Health Care Access in the Rio Grande Valley: The Specialty Care Challenge. Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Network Health Working Group: By Salomon Torres) - http://www.lrgvdc.org/downloads/packets/5C1-01-30-2019.pdf

To address that disparity, In 2016, the new UTRGV medical school welcomed its first 55 new medical students. “Of the 55 chosen, 20 are from the Rio Grande Valley…Fifteen are from Hidalgo County and five are from Cameron County.” (https://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/june-27-utrgv-school-of-medicine-welcomes-its-first-class/index.htm) Dr. Francisco Fernandez, founding dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine, said the medical school was meticulous in finding the right students to be a part of this inaugural class.

“These new students may have committed today to us, but that commitment is mutual,” Fernandez said. “As part of a university family, as part of the Rio Grande Valley community, and as part of an ever-changing world of challenges and needs, we in turn commit our resources, our expertise and our dedication to helping them succeed as the physicians of the future.” (https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/utrgv-school-of-medicine-welcomes-its-first-class/article_7e0dbaa2-3cb1-11e6-90d9-4b498c2edff5.html)
With more residency slots, UTRGV could prepare more future physicians to serve these critically needy areas, and make a dramatic difference to the patient-doctor ratio, and in turn, the health of the members of the RGV community and their ability to attain and maintain a high quality of life.

The continuation of the Medicaid 1115 Waiver also factors directly into the sustainability of the Rio Grande Valley, but impacts Texas, and the United States as a whole.
According to the original Medicaid 1115 Waiver Proposal (July 13, 2011) “The demonstration waiver under section 1115 of the Social Security Act is designed to build on existing Texas health care reforms and to redesign health care delivery in Texas consistent with the CMS triple aim to improve the experience of care, improve the health of populations, and to reduce the cost of health care without compromising quality…Altogether, these programs cover more than 3 million Medicaid beneficiaries and shift 1.5 million individuals into risk‐based managed care programs. Given the positive results to date of the managed care programs, Texas is anxious to gain approval to expand these programs, thus improving health outcomes for a greater number of beneficiaries.” (https://hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/laws-regulations/policies-rules/Waivers/medicaid-1115-waiver/waiver-1115-proposal.pdf)

Advocating for the continuation of the waiver advances sustainability as it addresses U.N. SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being (a healthy population is the foundation of a sustainable society) by allowing the state to expand Medicaid managed care while preserving hospital funding, and directs more funding to hospitals that serve large numbers of uninsured patients. That’s especially critical to the sustainability of the RGV, where much of our population is below the poverty line, uninsured, and suffering from a lack of access to affordable healthcare.
According to the Torres White Paper, “When looking at health care insurance coverage as an indicator of having access to health care, the RGV’s uninsured rate continues to be higher than the statewide average, or other areas of the state.”

Veronica Gonzales, Vice-President of Governmental and Community Relations testified before Congress’ House Committee on Education and Workforce on how to keep education accessible and affordable and how to provide quality dual and concurrent enrollment education. Testimony was provided as Congress worked on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, including the following statements: “Given the demographics of our students, our region and our university, it is important for us to: 1) keep college accessible and affordable; 2) assist our students so that they persist and graduate; 3) implement innovative means to shorten time to degree without sacrificing the quality of education and 4) promote innovative learning models that can be used in a distributed campus model.”… “We respectfully request that Congress encourage online learning and that regulations not deny students access to this increasingly popular and important form of learning.” Additionally, Gonzalez testified that “We would like to see you consider flexible use of Pell Grants to allow for continuous enrollment and incentives and rewards for institutions that are actively streamlining time to degree, thereby lessening the amount of financial aid a student requires.”

Veronica Gonzales and Velinda Reyes, assistant vice president for Community Programs and Operations, represented the university in Washington, D.C., in a STEM-centered roundtable discussion that is part of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper +STEM Initiative. The group discussed strategies and actions that inspire and prepare current students and disconnected youths to pursue academic and professional opportunities in entrepreneurship and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Gonzales and Reyes currently oversee the Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) program at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which aims to encourage underrepresented groups develop interest and find success in STEM fields. http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2015/december-14-utrgv-participates-in-roundtable-for-obamas-my-brothers-keeper-stem-initiative-at-the-white-house/

Dr. Marie T. Mora, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and professor of economics, was invited to the White House to participate in the “Fulfilling America’s Future: Latinas in the U.S.” summit presented by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, which featured participation by Latinas in education, health, labor, housing and politics. During this visit, Mora shared statistics on the impact Latina entrepreneurs are having on the U.S. economy with several White House executive administrators and leaders in the arts nationwide. Mora said she is hopeful that events like the summit will increase the visibility of the key economic and social roles that Hispanics, and Hispanic women, are playing in shaping the direction of the country, which reduces inequality and helps drive innovative sustainable development for the country.
Link: http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/november-03-national-policymakers-in-d-c-continue-to-rely-on-utrgv-professor-s-expertise/index.htm

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Texas state agencies, including public higher education institutions, are limited in the manner in which they can advocate for issues (Chapter 556.006, Texas Government Code). However, the Faculty Senate of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the idea of a sanctuary campus, in response to a recent petition signed by more than 1,500 students that asks UTRGV President Guy Bailey to prohibit campus police or immigration authorities from asking students about immigration status. UTRGV leadership have made public comments in support of protecting DREAMer students while not going so far as to lose state funding by assuming sanctuary status for the campus. “You stand a much greater chance of creating a problem if you make that declaration,” Bailey said in an interview. “I think our DREAMers are safe and we are certainly supportive of them. I think this the best way to protect them.”
Official statements include: UTRGV supports and will continue to support the success of our undocumented and Dreamer students across all of our units and student support offices. We will also explore the creation of a specific support structure, whether an office or a network of faculty and staff, to make it clearer to these students who to turn to for assistance. We will also continue to recruit and admit the best students in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/office-of-the-president/presidents-message/2016/december-09-2016/

UTRGV’s participation in public policy works towards the sustainable development goal of strong institutions and inclusive cities by advocating for public policies that support campus sustainability.