Answering the call: How Beeville became one of two pilot sites for Rural Medicine Program

Nestled in the heart of the Coastal Bend, Beeville, Texas, is rooted in history, art and heritage. With fewer than 14,000 residents, the community encapsulates rural Texas living.

“Despite our size, we can pull off anything,” said Roxane Marie Aguirre-Casas, leader of the Bee County community stakeholder team supporting the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine’s Rural Medicine Program. “Our community is unique in that it has always pulled together to make things successful.” 

That spirit of collaboration is noticeable and what led Beeville to be one of the first two communities to pilot the Rural Medicine Program. 

Like most rural communities, Beeville faces several obstacles when it comes to health care.

“The biggest challenge we face is the lack of medical doctors,” Casas said. “We have a hospital and state-of-the-art equipment, including a da Vinci system for robotic-assisted surgery, but when students enter medical school, their plans usually include residency in the big cities, where life is shiny, fast-moving with a lot to do outside of work.”

In 2021, Amy Waer, MD, FACS, MPSA, dean of the Vashisht College of Medicine met with Grady “Sam” Hogue, MD—a Beeville native who was working as an assistant clinical professor with the college—to discuss the health care challenges facing rural Texas. He was asked to create a forward-looking plan to help improve the college’s ability to provide medical care to underserved rural populations across the state. 

“Dr. Hogue knew rural communities were going to suffer greatly if we did not come up with a plan to attract young doctors to these areas,” Casas said. “Being from Beeville, he reached out to a few key people in the community to brainstorm ideas to address the physician shortage. It did not take us long to form a committee, visit the medical school campus and get on board.”

Casas, who chairs the CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Advisory Board in Beeville and serves on the CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Foundation Board in Corpus Christi, was an easy “yes” when asked to serve on the pilot committee. 

“Becoming part of this movement was easy,” Casas said.

Since the program started, 18 Aggie medical students have completed two-week rural rotations in Beeville.

“Our team consists of several doctors and a few community stakeholders. Each one of these team members plays a crucial role in making this program successful in Beeville,” Casas said. “A typical two-week rotation for the students includes about two days at CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic, a couple of days with JPP Clinic (now WellMed Community Action Corporation of South Texas), and the remainder of their time is at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital.”

Students also attend one Commissioners Court meeting where they speak to the commissioners about their experience with the program, visit the high school to discuss the program and their path to medical school with those students, and attend meetings of local organizations like Rotary to meet more community members and learn more about opportunities in the area.

Casas stressed that getting to know each individual student and their interests is important to design a meaningful experience. 

“What works best for us is getting the students’ CVs prior to their arrival and studying those, as well as finding out what their interests are outside of their education,” Casas said. “We host a welcome reception for each rotating student where they can meet the team and other key community members, and we coordinate a couple of evenings during their rotations to spend with younger Aggies in the area so they can get a feel for what life is like in rural America from those who are closer to their age.”

While Casas hopes to see at least one of the Aggie docs who rotated in Beeville return to practice there in the future, she has already seen the program benefit the community in several ways.

“Engagement with the high school has led to students and parents asking questions about the program,” Casas said. “It has brought awareness to the fact that we lack doctors and that Texas A&M is offering different opportunities and pathways for students to attend medical school.”

Casas sees only the upside for other rural communities to engage with the program. 

“Every rural town should get on board,” she said. “You have the opportunity to help a medical student understand what it is like to live in a community that truly needs them. You are helping shape the future of medicine, and you get to show off your community. It is extremely rewarding to have these young people be part of our community, if only for two weeks at a time.” 

In addition to Casas, the Beeville community stakeholder team includes: 

• Hannah Adamson, MD, surgeon, CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic
• Louie Alaniz, business owner and community leader
• Dru Arthur, PA, family medicine, CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic 
• Terri Arthur, PA, Women’s Health Clinic
• Gary Jones, HALO-Flight Board of Directors
• Joseph Larakers, MD, WellMed Community Action Corporation of South Texas
• Virginia Mora, former owner, JPP Family Clinic
• Maria Palafox, MD, general surgery, CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic
• Earl Rosette, CNO at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital
• James Schlotter, MD, general surgery, CHRISTUS Spohn General Surgery Clinic