SUMMER 2024
SUMMER 2024 Vol. 38 No. 2
Board of Directors Bob Parker, Board Chair Mary D. Clark, Vice Board Chair & Secretary Lenora Keas, Past Board Chair Mulukutla Ramakrishna, MD Past Chief-of-Staff Chris Comstock, MD, Chief-of-Staff Diane DeCou President, Development Foundation Eric Hamon, President & CEO, Driscoll Health System Mike Carrell Paul Daniel Chapa Jim Devlin Tom Dobson Diane D. Gates
Welcome from Matt Wolthoff President, Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley
Wes Hoskins Alex Kirkland Val LaMantia Reba Cardenas McNair Philip Ramirez Bob Shockney León I. Smith Harrison, MD
It has been an extremely exciting time in South Texas for Driscoll, and I am thrilled to announce the opening of Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley - the only freestanding designated children’s hospital in the Rio Grande Valley. It’s the fifth of its kind in the state and thirty-third nationwide. This is a pivotal moment for our community, marking a tremendous enhancement in the accessibility and quality of specialty acute care for our children in deep South Texas. We have built a world-class team dedicated exclusively to the needs of children, ensuring that they receive the specialized care and attention they deserve. This team is composed of the best and brightest in pediatric healthcare from South Texas and beyond. In fact, now that the hospital is open, we are seeing more and more talented healthcare professionals, including pediatric specialists, looking to return home to the Rio Grande Valley to serve in our mission. Access to industry-leading quality care close to home for the children of the Rio Grande Valley is the cornerstone of this mission. We are committed to making this care accessible to all families in South Texas regardless of their ability to pay or travel. Our facility offers a wide range of services and specialties, some that have never been available in the Valley, and we’ll continue to grow those services to meet the needs of our growing community. In the first two months of operation, Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley has accepted 185 transfers from RGV acute care hospitals, admitted 293 children as inpatients,
performed 593 surgeries, and seen a total of 1,660 children in our emergency department. This did not include the NICU for the first month of operation, which as of this writing has a census of 50 babies, as we brought those 63 beds on three weeks after opening the tower. The community’s reception has been overwhelmingly positive, validating the need for our facility and services. We recognize this is a starting point and to truly meet the needs of our community, we will need to grow and expand capacity in the near future. I feel truly blessed and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead this initiative alongside so many dedicated professionals. The Driscoll Way is alive and well in the Rio Grande Valley, and we will continue to work tirelessly in the pursuit of excellence and to ensure all children in South Texas have access to the healthcare that they deserve. I hope you enjoy learning more about this historic milestone in this Special Edition. Thank you for your support as we embark on this important journey together. I look forward to working with you and our whole community to create a brighter, healthier future for our children.
Development Foundation Board of Directors OFFICERS Diane DeCou, President Laurie Lozano Vice President & Chair, RGV Committee Susan Bonner, Parliamentarian Blaire Turnbull, Secretary Kenny Polk, Treasurer DIRECTORS Ruben Bosquez
Janie Hoskins Juli Lowry Emil Milano, MD Karen Muehlbauer Andy Saenz Evelyn Sames Paul Serafy Laura Nassri Warren
Leah Cohen Ryan Frazier
David A. Garza Barbara Guerra Stacey Hall Bruce Harvey Ambrosio Hernandez III, MD Kevin Hopkins, MD
TRUSTEES EMERITUS Mary D. Clark
Manette Scanio Bob Shockney
Diane D. Gates Nancy Hawn Marc Layton
Roger Timperlake, MD
Rich Tuttle
Together, we heal.
EX-OFFICIO Eric Hamon, President & CEO, Driscoll Health System
Sean Pieri, Vice President of Development & Marketing, Driscoll Children’s Hospital
Driscoll Children’s Hospital 3533 South Alameda Street Corpus Christi, TX 78411 (361) 694-5000 TTY Deaf Messaging (800) 735-2989 driscollchildrens.org
Matt Wolthoff
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