An Effective Model for Establishing a Collaborative for the Treatment of COVID-19 in the Rio Grande Valley.

Betancourt-Garcia, Monica M; Arauco-Brown, Alfredo R; Garcia, Ricardo; Rosenbaum-Marinaro, Lizabeth; Stutz, Taylor; Rao, Sohail

The DHR Health Institute for Research and Development spearheaded a region-wide initiative to establish a Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Collaborative for early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19. The Collaborative was established on March 23, 2020, to conserve resources and provide the best clinical care in the face of an imminent regional health crisis in an underserved community, predominantly of Hispanic heritage with some of the highest rates of chronic diseases in the United States. The use of plasma obtained from convalesced SARS-CoV-2-infected donors was approved by the FDA and the RGV Collaborative took this as its initial challenge. To date, over 2,200 patients with severe and life-threatening COVID-19 have successfully received transfusion of convalescent plasma in various health care facilities in the RGV. The RGV Collaborative is a unique model for creating an effective public health strategy for the delivery of quality clinical care, especially in underserved communities.