COVID-19: The views of four hospital CEOs in Cameron County

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., held a press conference on Friday with the heads of four local hospitals to speak about the “dire” situation surrounding the county’s exponential uptick in COVID-19 cases. Manny Vela, president and CEO of Valley Baptist Health System; Art Garza, CEO of Valley Regional Medical Center; Matt Wolthoff, CEO of Harlingen Medical Center; and Leslie Bingham, senior vice president and hospital CEO of Valley Baptist Health System, all joined Cameron County Health Authority Dr. James Castillo to discuss their concerns. Like Pharr Mayor Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez, the leaders says their biggest fear is not having enough health care workers to treat the influx of COVID-19 patients. “Our hospitals expand and contract based on the demand that we are experiencing,” said Garza.  “And, at the moment, our hospitals are expanding. And, I’m very concerned that if our rates continue the way they are, then we will find ourselves in situations like we saw on the news – cities like New York and other hotspots. And, unfortunately – I hate to say this, and this is simply my opinion – I don’t think we’re far from that.”Treviño said he holds the news conferences to keep local residents on the latest developments on the coronavirus.“We are doing this to inform you. We want to inform the public so they understand the demands and the current existing conditions at the hospitals. We need your help in order to make sure that things don’t get worse, going forward,” Treviño said.“That is why we are asking all of you to do your part because the hospitals need to be able to have the resources and the staffing to save lives and if we are overrun it is going to multiply the problems we are going to be facing.”For the full story by reporter Patricia Martinez go to www.riograndeguardian.com.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.