The Advocacy Alliance Center of Texas, or AACT Now, launched its Rally the Vote initiative Thursday, bringing together community organizations and regional leaders to expand access to nonpartisan voter information across the Rio Grande Valley.

The significance of DHR Health Transplant Institute’s latest recognition extends far beyond a hospital ranking. It raises a larger question for South Texas: Has the Rio Grande Valley reached the point where patients can look to the region not only for local healthcare, but for nationally competitive transplant medicine?