An agreement for medical school graduates to continue their specialty training between the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and DHR Health is over.

Students with UT Health Rio Grande Valley will need to look to other hospitals to complete their residencies, UTRGV President Guy Bailey said in a letter sent to the campus.

“This latest development is part of UTRGV’s natural evolution and undoubtedly reflects the fact that our healthcare mission no longer aligns with a for-profit, physician-owned health system like DHR Health,” Bailey stated.

Read the full statement below:

"Dear UTRGV Family:

We learned Monday afternoon that DHR Health has unilaterally decided to terminate our Affiliation Agreement and end its role as a teaching site for UTRGV residents and fellows. 

This type of termination between health systems and universities is not unusual, but in the spirit of transparency, we wanted you to hear the news from us first.

Please know that we do not view this termination as problematic nor was it unexpected. This latest development is part of UTRGV’s natural evolution and undoubtedly reflects the fact that our healthcare mission no longer aligns with a for-profit, physician-owned health system like DHR Health.

However, we are very proud of our progress since initially executing the Affiliation Agreement with DHR Health in May 2016. The lives we have positively impacted, and the programs we have sponsored are all accomplishments that have helped us reach this next stage. We would like to thank the DHR community for its considerations and appreciate the educational opportunities afforded to our UTRGV resident physicians and fellows through the partnership, and we wish DHR Health nothing but the best in their future endeavors.

UTRGV currently has Affiliation Agreements with three other hospitals across the Valley and we are discussing other possible partnerships. Additionally, on Friday, we will break ground on the new UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center, a $145-million, 144,000-square foot facility, that is part of phase one development of UTRGV’s McAllen Academic Medical Campus. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a world leader in cancer care and research, will provide oncology advisory services to develop and launch the program. 

What does this mean for our residents and fellows?

Rest reassured that as the Sponsoring Institution where these residency programs reside, UTRGV is dedicated to our mission and committed to the academic and clinical education of our residents and fellows through the completion of training. We are notifying the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) – who granted accreditation to UTRGV for these residency programs – of this circumstance and will work with the ACGME Institutional Review Committee as we support our programs during this transition period.

We will work tirelessly and cooperatively to ensure the completion of training and a smooth wind down and transition of the UTRGV residency and fellowship programs based at DHR Health. The Affiliation Agreement allows for a multi-year sunset period, and we will operate under that timeline.

What if I currently see a UTRGV physician at DHR Health?

If you are a patient under the care of a UTRGV-employed physician located at DHR Health, there will be no immediate impact on your healthcare services at that site. Over time, those clinical services provided by UTRGV physicians will be transitioned to a UTRGV site, and you will receive advanced notice well ahead of those changes.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please email askutrgvsom@utrgv.edu.

Sincerely,

Guy Bailey, Ph.D.                   

President"                                  

The university says it still has three other affiliation agreements with other valley hospitals and it's now discussing other possible partnerships.