Val Verde Regional Medical Center, Texas Tech advance Del Rio residency program

Val Verde Regional Medical Center hosted a second official site visit from leadership of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Family Medicine Rural Residency Program as the two organizations move beyond planning and toward implementation of a Del Rio-based rural family medicine residency. The visit occurred March 4, 2026, and officials say the partnership is advancing toward a planned 2027 launch.

The following information was provided by Val Verde Regional Medical Center. Resident interviews are scheduled to begin in fall 2026 for an inaugural class that will begin training in July 2027 at the TTUHSC Permian Basin campus as part of a three-year family medicine residency program. After completing their PGY-1 year at the Permian Basin campus, residents will transition to Del Rio in July 2028 to complete PGY-2 and PGY-3 training at VVRMC.

Hospital officials framed the Del Rio site as a long-term teaching location designed to boost the local physician workforce and primary care access. “This partnership is a transformative step for healthcare in our region,” Jurado said. “By building a rural residency program here in Del Rio, we are investing in a sustainable physician workforce pipeline, strengthening recruitment and retention and expanding access to primary care for our community.” Hospital officials also noted that “Rural residency programs have consistently demonstrated higher retention rates in the communities where physicians train.”

Dr. Alejandro Bocanegra will serve as site director for the program at VVRMC and will oversee resident education and faculty development at the Del Rio location. VVRMC said Bocanegra brings prior experience in academic medicine and physician training to the role; TTUHSC leadership participated in the site visit but no individual TTUHSC names or titles were provided in the material released by the hospital.

VVRMC stated that residents will live and work in Del Rio while caring for local patients and completing rural-focused clinical education at the hospital located at 801 N. Bedell Ave., Del Rio, TX 78840. Interviews in fall 2026 will feed the class that begins July 2027; the hospital and TTUHSC officials said they will continue working together as the program advances toward the planned timeline.

Val Verde Regional Medical Center provided organizational background noting it opened in 1959 as Val Verde Memorial Hospital with fewer than 30 beds, was renamed Val Verde Regional Medical Center in 1996, and underwent major renovations in 1969, 1985 and 2002. The hospital lists a workforce of more than 700 employees and provides a phone contact of 830.775.8566. VVRMC materials describe the hospital as the primary medical care provider in the area and say it aims to position Del Rio as a long-term teaching site to strengthen recruitment, retention and primary care access across Val Verde County and surrounding rural areas.