| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, Dr. Mario E. Ramirez has made immeasurable |
|
|
contributions to the provision of improved health care in South |
|
|
Texas; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, After completing his residency in 1950, Dr. Ramirez |
|
|
returned to Roma, his birthplace, to open that town's first family |
|
|
clinic, and for some years he was the only practicing physician in |
|
|
Starr County; in 1958, he founded Roma's first hospital, the Manuel |
|
|
Ramirez Memorial Clinic and Hospital, named for his grandfather; |
|
|
later, while also serving as county judge, he was instrumental in |
|
|
the creation of the Starr County Memorial Hospital and in the |
|
|
establishment of a hospital taxation district to fund its |
|
|
operation; when the new county hospital opened in Rio Grande City in |
|
|
1975, Dr. Ramirez relocated to that community; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This esteemed physician continued to practice |
|
|
family medicine until 1995, when he assumed the post of vice |
|
|
president for South Texas Programs at The University of Texas |
|
|
Health Science Center at San Antonio; during his tenure in that |
|
|
office, he launched an initiative to encourage students in South |
|
|
Texas to pursue careers in the health sciences, and to date, more |
|
|
than 2,000 young Texans have participated in the Med Ed Program; |
|
|
after eight years with the health science center, Dr. Ramirez |
|
|
retired in 2007; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Dr. Ramirez has worked tirelessly to draw attention |
|
|
to the needs of the medically underserved in South Texas, and to |
|
|
that end, he has held numerous leadership positions in national and |
|
|
statewide organizations and committees; to cite just two, he has |
|
|
served as president of both the Texas Medical Association and the |
|
|
Texas Academy of Family Physicians; in addition, he has long worked |
|
|
to advance the cause of higher education in this state, and his |
|
|
efforts in that regard have earned him gubernatorial appointments |
|
|
to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and The University |
|
|
of Texas System Board of Regents; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The recipient of a host of accolades, Dr. Ramirez |
|
|
has been recognized by Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, |
|
|
Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush; moreover, the establishment of |
|
|
the Dr. Mario E. Ramirez Distinguished Professorship in Family and |
|
|
Community Medicine at the UT School of Medicine at San Antonio and |
|
|
the naming of the medical library at the Regional Academic Health |
|
|
Center in Harlingen in his honor bear testament to the magnitude of |
|
|
his achievements; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Over the course of his exemplary career, Dr. Mario |
|
|
Ramirez has served the residents of South Texas with the utmost |
|
|
skill, compassion, and determination, and his efforts have |
|
|
benefited untold numbers of individuals; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
|
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commend Dr. Mario E. |
|
|
Ramirez on his exceptional contributions to health care in South |
|
|
Texas and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued |
|
|
happiness; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Dr. Ramirez as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |
| |
|
|
Guillen |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 73 was adopted by the House on June |
|
|
28, 2011, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |