The Advocacy Alliance Center of Texas, known as AACT NOW, will officially launch its Rally the Vote initiative Thursday, Oct. 1, bringing together community partners working to expand access to accurate, nonpartisan election 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?