Rio Grande Valley’s biggest free health clinic event of the year is canceled due to federal cuts

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McALLEN — Every year since 1999, the Rio Grande Valley has hosted a massive five-day event to offer free health services across several counties.

More than 6,600 people received services from the event last year. People lined up as early as 4 a.m. to access physician check-ups, immunizations, sports physicals, screenings for diabetes, dental services, eye exams and prescription glasses.

The event, called Operation Border Health, was scheduled to take place next week at five locations across the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo. But health officials abruptly announced the event's cancellation last week, marking the first time the event will not be held in 26 years.

Local county health departments said the event was canceled because of cuts to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ federal funding.

This fiscal year, which started on July 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only gave Texas about 72% of the base funding the state received last year for its Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, Imelda Garcia, the state health agency’s chief deputy commissioner, told county leaders earlier this month. The program helps communities prepare for infectious diseases, natural disasters and other health threats.

The notice came after Garcia warned local public health departments in June of potential federal cuts. CDC officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

In Cameron County, funding was cut by about $100,000, which meant losing two employees on the health department's preparedness team, said Esmeralda Guajardo, the county health administrator. That was in addition to 10 health department employees — including two on the preparedness team — she lost in March after the federal government told Texas officials it was cutting back $700 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funding.

The cuts brought Guajardo's preparedness team down to six employees, which she said made running Operation Border Health this year unmanageable.

The preparedness team, which is comprised of several epidemiologists, is usually responsible for conducting contact investigations for diseases in the community.

Guajardo said the workload is heavy — especially for a short-staffed team — and she couldn't afford to leave those responsibilities unattended while her staff handled Operation Border Health.

"I have a real hard time asking my employees, that I've lost 40% of, to go out and oversee Operation Border Health, knowing that when they come back, they're going to have this workload to attend to," Guajardo said.

Meanwhile, the federal cuts meant Hidalgo County lost more than $165,000 in emergency preparedness funds, prompting the county to terminate a vacant emergency preparedness coordinator position.

The county said the cuts impacted temporary and permanent staff involved in the event, but declined to provide specifics on the impact of those cuts.

Losing Operation Border Health is a blow to a region that consistently ranks among the highest in the state without health insurance.

In 2023, the rate of Rio Grande Valley residents who were uninsured was between 27% and 31%.

Ivan Melendez, the Hidalgo County health authority — who is independent of the county health department — said he’s concerned about the elimination of health efforts meant to benefit a community that ranks high in poverty, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, end-stage renal disease and hemodialysis.

“Then you throw into it the closure of such safety nets, it becomes a very, very big issue for us,” Melendez said.

A handful of clinics in the county offer health services at free or reduced cost, but their resources are strained, Melendez said.

Operation Border Health, a bilingual program, offered a way for people to access those services during the summer, which could be especially useful for students in need of new glasses or sports physicals ahead of the school year.

Melendez said he and the county hope to create new resources to fill the void by partnering with school districts and universities to host clinics. However, he would prefer Operation Border Health to resume.

“We're deeply disappointed that we can't do it,” he said. “Our hope is that this is short-lived and that we can return back to this program as soon as possible.”

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

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