This research guide gives information on Public Health and Healthcare in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, focusing on topics such as epidemics/pandemics, rural and colonia healthcare, and veteran healthcare, while also touching on prominent figures. The purpose of this research guide is to offer students and researchers context with access to primary and secondary sources at the UTRGV University Library, including Special Collections & Archives, Library Catalog, and as well as highlighting other resources available externally.
The lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a part of the US and Mexico Border, has been historically challenged by chronic health-related issues such as communicable diseases, the lack of healthcare professionals in the early times, and obstacles to providing healthcare for low-income Mexican Americans, especially those living in colonias and rural areas. Despite such barriers the Rio Grande Valley has seen considerable growth in public health and healthcare.
What is public health and healthcare? Both are similar but differ in their focus on solving health issues. Public health focuses on protecting and promoting better health for the population, while healthcare focuses on giving services such as diagnosing and treating health problems. Some of the themes public health and healthcare covered in this guide are epidemics/pandemics, rural/colonia healthcare, veterans healthcare, and pioneering physicians.
Progress is evident in the actions taken by early physicians in Valley like Dr. Mary Ann Edgerton from Rio Grande City, who contained a small pox epidemic in the early 1900s, and Dr. Hector P. Garcia, who advocated for veterans health issues in the mid-1900s, and in present times we can see the Valley creating opportunities for younger generations through new educational programs for health professionals at all levels.
Voces of a Pandemic is an oral history project conducted in collaboration with the Voces of a Pandemic project of the Voces Oral History Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Voces of a Pandemic is a partnership among over a dozen institutions across the country, dedicated to recording, preserving and disseminating the unique perspectives of Latinos/as during this crisis by giving voice to a population heavily impacted by the [COVID-19] virus.
Mier, Nelda; Ory, Marcia G.; Zhan, Dongling; Conkling, Martha; Sharkey, Joseph R.; Burdine, James N. Social science & medicine (1982), 2008, Vol.66 (8), p.1760-1771.
Ramírez-Johnson, Johnny; Park, John; Wilson, Colwick; Pittman, Sharon; Díaz, Héctor Luis. Journal of religion and health, 2014, Vol.53 (4), p.1199-1213
Engelbert, Phillis. Migrant Health Newsline, 2008, Vol.25 (6), p.2
In 2015, the Community Development Department of the Dallas Fed released its report “Las Colonias in the 21st Century: Progress Along the Texas–Mexico Border,” based on its research in the six Texas counties with the highest concentration of colonias. The report examines infrastructure, housing, economic opportunity, education and health in these communities.
Veterans health affairs, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, 2006, Container: 146, Box: 170, Folder: 30. Rubén Hinojosa Congressional Papers, ELIBR-0146. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Special Collections and Archives, Edinburg Campus.
Newsletter - 1988-10-27 "CONGRESS COMPLETES LEGISLATION FOR VETERANS" addresses issues relating to denial of healthcare claims and service.
Veterans and Agent Orange by
This book updates and evaluates the available scientific evidence regarding statistical associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides used in Vietnam, focusing on new scientific studies and literature published since the release of Veterans and Agent Orange (1994). The update gives special attention to the relationship between exposure to herbicides and the development of birth defects and transient peripheral neuropathy, as well as the relationship between exposure to herbicides and the subsequent development of prostate, hepatobiliary, nasopharyngeal, and other cancers. The book also explores the relationship between the length of time since first exposure and the possible risk of cancer development. It reviews and summarizes the strength of scientific evidence concerning the association between herbicide use in Vietnam and each disease suspected to be associated with such exposure.
Gulf War Veterans by
Many individuals, groups, and federal agencies have a strong interest in finding answers to the numerous and complex questions regarding the health of Gulf War veterans. Various types of research and health measurement are needed to address these diverse issues. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was asked by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to undertake a study to identify important questions concerning the health of Gulf War veterans and then to design a study to answer those questions. The committee determined that it is of fundamental importance to ask how healthy are Gulf War veterans? Are they as healthy as others? What characteristics are associated with differences between the health of Gulf War veterans and the health of others? To address these questions, it will be necessary to measure not only the health status of those who served in the Gulf War, but also to compare Gulf War veterans with other groups. Further, one must continue to follow these groups through time to determine whether the groups differ in the way their health status is changing. As the committee began to develop a design that would address the fundamental questions identified, it realized that such a study could have important implications for understanding not only the health of Gulf War veterans, but also the health of veterans of other conflicts.
Veteran wellness and reintegration : factors contributing to their success in the community (Dissertation) by
The purpose of the following study is to determine if there is a relationship between veteran wellness based on gender, discharge status, theatre of operations, substance use disorder, veteran self-efficacy, community reintegration post discharge, stigma and veteran physical and psychosocial factors. Military veteran wellness has been the focal point of service providers for ensuring post-discharge veterans' success. During the last decade there has been an increase in military veterans reintegrating into society with chronic ailments and undiagnosed conditions. The study examined 85 Texas veterans: (a) the relationship between veterans' substance abuse and their perception of stigma, (b) the relationship between veteran self-efficacy and veteran personal wellness, (c) the impact of psychological factors of veteran wellness on veterans' reintegration into the community post discharge from the armed services, and (d) the specific demographic factors of veterans on their reintegration into the community. Results indicated veteran wellness was highly correlated with specific veteran demographic factors, and stigma. Implications of the study and recommendations for future research are included in the study to better identify factors that can improve veteran well-being.
Dr. William C. Gorgas was born October 3, 1854 in Toulminville, AL. He served in the US Army (1880–1918) as a physician and the 22nd Surgeon General of the U.S. Army (1914–1918). Dr. Gorgas was assigned to Fort Brown in 1882 at the height of a yellow fever (also known as "yellow jack") epidemic, in Brownsville and Matamoros.
While stationed at Fort Brown and attending to patients and burials, Dr. Gorgas contracted the disease, which he suspected was the result of a mosquito-borne illness made worse by poor sanitation conditions. He put his theories to the test against outbreaks of yellow fever and malaria in Florida, Cuba, and at the Panama Canal. Dr. Gorgas implemented the draining of nearby ponds and swamps, using mosquito netting, fumigating against insects, and quarantining infected patients. His work saved countless lives from deadly disease. Dr. Gorgas was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Victory Medal, and Public Welfare Medal. He was also awarded Honorary Knight Commander of Michael and George by King George V. (See also Dr. Gorgas Research Guide)
Dr. Mary Ann (Headley) Edgerton (1882–1952) was the first Rio Grande City native and perhaps the first Mexican-American woman in Texas to become a physician. She attended the University of Texas as an undergraduate and earned her MD from Woman’s Medical College (PA) in 1910. Upon returning home to practice medicine in the Valley, Dr. Edgerton earned the respect of her community as the Starr County Health Officer for her quick and effective response to a smallpox epidemic in Rio Grande City, by implementing vaccine and quarantine methods.
During her early years, Dr. Edgerton traveled by horse and buggy to treat patients in their homes. In her 30+ years of medicine, she delivered thousands of babies in Hidalgo and Starr Counties, including Dr. Mario E. Ramirez.
Dr. Edgerton advocated for women's suffrage as a member of the National Woman's Party. She fundraised for the organization and circulated a NWP pamphlet, "How Texas Laws Discriminate Against Women."
Her father, Alexander Manford Headley (seated in photograph), was also a physician and surgeon. He was a veteran of the U.S. Civil War, having served as a Confederate. He married her mother, Maria del Pilar Treviño, in 1884 in Camargo, Mexico.
Dr. Mario E. Ramirez was a physician, educator, Starr County judge, and University of Texas regent. Dr. Ramirez was recognized for his service to the medically underserved communities of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
After retirement from the US Air Force, Ramirez returned to Roma and opened the first hospital in Starr County in 1958. He was commended for his work in the aftermath of hurricane Beulah (1967) coordinating medical relief efforts on both sides of the border to treat thousands of displaced people.
Dr. Ramirez served on countless boards and committees at local, state, and county levels. He was even elected judge in Starr County. He also served as Vice-President for South Texas Programs at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio from 1995 to 2007. The UTRGV School of Medicine library in Harlingen is named for Dr. Ramirez.
Dr. Clotilde Pérez García (1917–2003) was a Mexican-American physician, activist, author, and educator. Raised in Mercedes, she graduated from Mercedes High School in 1936 and earned an associate degree in 1936 from Edinburg Junior College. García attended the University of Texas at Austin and received her bachelor's degree in pre-med, zoology, and chemistry in 1938 and later her master's in education in 1950. Then, in 1957 Dr. García became one of seven women and the only Mexican-American woman to earn a medical degree from University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. She practiced medicine in South Texas until 1995.
In addition to her active medical practice, Dr. García also devoted her time to activism and education, including with the American GI Forum (founded by her brother Hector), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Del Mar College Board of Regents. She became an avid genealogist, author and historian, and founder of the Spanish American Genealogical Association (SAGA).
See "Healthcare Harbingers." Women's History Digital Exhibit. UTRGV Special Collections & Archives.
Dr. Héctor Pérez García (1914–1996) was a Mexican-American physician, surgeon, World War II veteran, civil rights advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum. He attended Edinburg Junior College and later earned advanced degrees in zoology and medicine (M.D., 1940). In 1942, Dr. García enlisted in the U.S. Army, served in Europe and North Africa, and received a Bronze Star and six battle stars for his military service in World War II. His post-war life was devoted to activism and service. Garcia founded the American G.I. Forum in 1948 to advocate for these veterans. The organization grew to have chapters nationwide and is still active today. He was the first Mexican-American to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984.
See VIDEO: Justice for my people the Dr. Hector P. Garcia story (2002) KEDT (Television station : Corpus Christi, Tex.). Learn more: Texas Originals: Héctor P. García
Photo from Dr. Hector P. Garcia Papers. Special Collections and Archives, Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Haziel is currently pursuing a bachelor’s in marketing with a concentration in Design, Commercial, and Development, with minors in Anthropology and Graphic Design. Haziel is also an intern with Special Collections and Archives during Spring 2023 semester. Haziel plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s in applied Anthropology in Business, and he also plans to work as a consumer researcher for video game companies to study the interaction within the company, the game, and the player.
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