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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost an admired leader in health |
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care and higher education with the death of former University of |
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Texas System regent Dr. Mario E. Ramirez of Rio Grande City on May |
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22, 2017, at the age of 91; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Roma on April 3, 1926, to Efren and Maria del |
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Carmen Ramirez, Mario Ramirez attended The University of Texas at |
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Austin before accepting early enrollment in the University of |
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Tennessee School of Medicine; he graduated in 1948, and while |
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completing his residency at Shreveport Charity Hospital, he met the |
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love of his life, Sarah Aycock, then a student nurse; they married |
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in 1949 and eventually became the parents of five children, Mario, |
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Patricia, Norman, Jaime, and Roberto; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Ramirez founded Roma's first family practice |
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clinic with his wife in 1950; after serving in Japan as a U.S. Air |
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Force physician for two years, he returned to Starr County and |
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established its first hospital in 1958; he made daily house calls |
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over a 50-mile radius and treated many patients who could not afford |
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to pay; in the wake of Hurricane Beulah, as the county's public |
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health service director, he led the relief effort for nearly 14,000 |
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refugees; he and one other physician took care of all their health |
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emergencies for two days before outside help arrived; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of a half century in family |
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medicine, Dr. Ramirez cared for countless people and delivered |
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thousands of babies; he also took on numerous leadership roles in |
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order to address the needs of medically underserved populations; in |
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1969, he was appointed Starr County judge, and during a tenure that |
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spanned nine years, he was instrumental in the creation of a |
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hospital taxation district and the construction of Starr County |
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Memorial Hospital in Rio Grande City; he was appointed to the |
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development board of the UT Medical Branch in Galveston in 1974, and |
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he mentored a host of physicians as an assistant professor at both |
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the Houston and San Antonio campuses of the UT Medical School; from |
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1989 to 1995, as a member of the UT Board of Regents, he championed |
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education in the Rio Grande Valley and worked to address health care |
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disparities, paving the way for the establishment of a medical |
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school in the region; he served from 1995 to 2007 as vice president |
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for South Texas programs of the UT Health Science Center at San |
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Antonio, and in that role, he developed the Med Ed Program, which |
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has prepared a host of high school students in the Valley and Laredo |
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for careers in health science; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Ramirez was the first Hispanic elected |
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president of the Texas Medical Association, and he further served |
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as president of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians; on the |
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national level, he was a member of the National Health Advisory |
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Council, the Ad Hoc Committee on Health Professions, and the board |
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of regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health |
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Sciences; among myriad accolades, he received the Bicentennial |
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Benjamin Rush Award for Citizenship and Community Service from the |
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American Medical Association, the Family Doctor of the Year Award |
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from the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the |
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Distinguished Alumnus Award from UT Austin; and |
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WHEREAS, Mario Ramirez made a tremendous impact in South |
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Texas and beyond as a physician, a public servant, and a tireless |
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champion of health care access for all, and his remarkable legacy |
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will continue to resonate in the years to come; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Dr. Mario E. Ramirez |
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and extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Dr. Mario |
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E. Ramirez. |
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Guerra |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2651 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 28, 2017. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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