Laredo, TX – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) secures emergency trauma care for the people of Laredo and the surrounding areas by facilitating a partnership between the U.S. Army, Laredo Medical Center and Doctors Hospital of Laredo. The Congressman helped create this partnership by amending restrictive language in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

“Access to trauma care saves lives. Victims treated at trauma centers have a 25 percent higher survival rate compared to those seen in hospitals without those services. However, our community lacked the personnel and resources to provide this critical health care service as a level 1 Trauma Center. People in the Laredo area would have to be transported to San Antonio to receive trauma care,” said Congressman Cuellar. 

“For this reason, I worked hard to create this unique collaboration between the U.S. Army, Laredo Medical Center, and Doctors Hospital so we can provide better service and care to the people of our community.”

“Laredo Medical Center and Doctors Hospital will now bring the most advanced trauma care available to patients with life-threatening injuries. This public-private collaboration expands trauma care to Webb, La Salle, Zapata, and surrounding counties. Now, fewer families in need of trauma care will have to travel over 150 miles to San Antonio and waste critical moments in transit. This agreement will also teach trauma-level care to the next generation of physicians as well as improve the health outcomes of non-emergency conditions. This a big win for our community and I am committed to making sure the people of South Texas get the health care they need.”

Enrique Gallegos, CEO of Laredo Medical Center (LMC), hails the collaboration with the U.S. Army as a win-win situation and said, “As home to the city’s largest Emergency Center and the city’s first nationally accredited graduate medical education programs, Laredo Medical Center expands its role as a teaching institution and takes great pride to be part of an effort that will benefit our country and the Laredo community. This partnership will provide the U.S. Army’s medical teams with extensive, specialized training to deliver quality emergency trauma care to injured forces in the field, while providing LMC with more physicians, nurses and technicians to assist our ER medical team at home.”  

“Doctors Hospital is looking forward to this partnership with the U.S. Army,” states Jim Resendez, CEO of Doctors Hospital.  “To have been selected as a military-civilian training site for service members presents a great opportunity for our medical and hospital staff to provide patient-centered medical training for service member participants. We thank U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar for giving our facility this opportunity to build strong relationships with our military personnel, for the benefit of patient care.”     

Bringing Emergency Trauma Capabilities to Laredo

Doctors Hospital and Laredo Medical Hospital will be capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury, from prevention to rehabilitation. Common causes of injury that bring patients to a trauma center are falls, motor vehicle crashes, burns, gunshot wounds, and assaults. A trauma center includes 24-hour coverage by general surgeons, and prompt availability of care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, internal medicine, plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial, pediatric and critical care.

Improvements to Trauma Center Partnerships by Amending Restrictive NDAA Language

Congressman Cuellar helped secure this partnership for the City of Laredo and the surrounding areas in FY 2019 by amending the National Defense Authorization Act. By changing the language from “large metropolitan teaching hospitals that have level 1 trauma centers” with “trauma centers” he paved the way for the U.S. Army and the City of Laredo to agree on this partnership.

To see the Congressman’s language in the FY19 NDAA, click here. 

Providing Individualized Specialty Medical Training for Service Members

Laredo Medical Center and Doctors Hospital of Laredo have entered medical training agreements in order to provide specialized medical training to U.S. military personnel as part of the SMART (Strategic Medical Asset Readiness Training) program. Operation SMART was developed by the U.S. Army Medical Command to establish a national network of civilian health care facilities to train and build medical skill sustainment among military personnel.

This agreement will allow about 20 medics, and a variety of other medical specialties from all three Services, the opportunity to train alongside their civilian counterparts for a two-week rotation every quarter at LMC and Doctors Hospital. The U.S. Army plans to begin training in Laredo in the summer of 2020. This high-quality training will improve service members’ knowledge and skillsets while also benefiting the community with additional resources and workforce.

In the Picture: Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) with State Representative Tracy King, Mayor Pete Saenz, Laredo Medical Center CEO Enrique Gallegos, Doctor Hospital COO’s Jorge Leal and Raymond Ramos, and doctors and staff from Laredo Medical Center and Doctors Hospital

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