Healthcare

As a vital regional healthcare hub, Harlingen is empowered by leading-edge skill and transformative healthcare facilities, education and research. And now the city is poised for even greater sector expansion serving a young, fast-growing population with advantages including:

Nationally ranked assets

Harlingen’s world-class healthcare is impacting lives and promoting healthcare knowledge.

  • A designated Level IV Trauma Center specializing in 20+ different areas of care and services, Harlingen Medical Center has earned patient trust even as it has been nationally recognized:

    • Top 50 Hospitals for Cardiovascular Care (Fortune and IBM Watson Health)

    • America’s 100 Best Hospitals for orthopedic surgery (Becker’s Spine Review) “A” rating from the Leapfrog Group

    • Gold Plus Award from the American Stroke Association

  • A member of the faith-based regional Valley Baptist Healthcare System, Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen offers a wide spectrum of services and care that has earned awards including:

    • Recognition by the American Heart Association for outstanding stroke patient care

    100 Hospital & Health Systems with Great Women’s Health Programs (Becker’s Hospital Review)

  • Headquartered in Harlingen, this leader in veteran care advances the quality of healthcare through multiple missions, including:

    • Comprehensive health services for more than 40,000 veterans across a 20-county South Texas region, operating in 9 locations including a VA Clinic here in Harlingen. In addition to 300,000 annual outpatient visits, the System coordinates with local hospitals to manage 1,600 in-patient admissions and 1,200 Emergency Department admissions to assure comprehensive medical care.

    • Cutting-edge clinical research that develops new knowledge, nurtures new scientists and allows the active participation of VA patients.

    • State-of-the-art medical development as a teaching facility for allied healthcare personnel and medical residents in conjunction with University of Texas Health Sciences Center-University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Powerful talent
& R&D pipeline

Since the enrollment of its first class of first-year medical school students in 2016, the UTRGV School of Medicine has produced hundreds of top-flight professionals, transforming the health of the region while producing transformative results in medicine, research and patient care through seven departments and several institutes. The School’s ongoing research is advancing knowledge in critical areas of need such as neuroscience, Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes.

While UTRGV School of Medicine and VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend fill the pipeline with physicians and researchers, at Texas State Technical College, allied health programs like surgical technology are helping keep healthcare teams staffed at all levels.

Top talent
attraction & retention

While producing leading talent right here, the region is also attracting and retaining top talent from across the nation with exceptional care and research opportunities, and with an appealing quality of life. Dedicated medical professionals work hard, and Harlingen rewards them with engaging arts and culture, a rich and varied dining and retail scene and resort quality recreation.