By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
The RGV Hispanic Chamber of Commerce women’s committee celebrated the 2023 winners of the Women of Distinction. This was an outstanding presentation where all the ladies were chosen from over 35 candidates. On Wednesday, March 8, they were honored at the annual “Hats Off to Women of Distinction” awards dinner better known as International Women’s Day, all over the world.
Dr. Ashley Bose was selected to be honored in this event. She arrived in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas during one of the most destructive emergencies in the nation, COVID-19. However, in just a few years, she managed to captivate the area with her constant service and dedication to the communities through her practice as an Industrial and Family Medicine physician.
Dr. Ashley Bose has been the recipient of important recognitions, this time by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the Rio Grande Valley. She is the Medical Director of Ashley Pediatrics and Dr. Bose Industrial and Family Medicine (aka Industrial Health Works).
Today this young medical professional, Dr. Ashley Bose is truly a product of the Rio Grande Valley. She received her education in elementary, middle school, and high school in the McAllen public schools and her undergraduate education at the UTRGV.
From there she went to the Baylor School of Medicine and obtained her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree in 2015. After completing her residency in Family Medicine at the Memorial Herman Hospital and working at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, both in Houston, Texas, Dr. Bose returned to the RGV in 2020 to serve as the Medical Director of Ashley Pediatrics and Dr. Bose Industrial and Family Medicine (aka Industrial Health Works) as her mom, Dr. Sarojini Bose, was stepping down from practicing medicine due to ill health.
As a board-certified Family Medicine Physician, Dr. Ashley Bose is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Texas Academy of Physicians. In addition, she serves on the Driscoll Health Plan’s Physician Advisory Committee (September 2021-present) and Credentialing and Peer Review Committee (May 2022-present).
As Medical Director of Ashley Pediatrics and Dr. Bose Industrial and Family Medicine (aka Industrial Health Works), she was at the forefront of providing COVID testing and COVID vaccines during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to providing these services through her 16 clinics in the RGV, (14 Ashley Pediatrics and 2 Dr. Bose Industrial and Family Medicine clinics), she created 5 standalone COVID test sites at the height of the pandemic to serve the community: 3 in McAllen, 1 in Alton, and 1 in Donna.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, these clinics and standalone test sites were doing upwards of 900-1,000 tests per day, thus providing valuable health diagnosis for those in need of medical treatment and intervention. When the COVID-19 vaccines became available, Dr. Ashley Bose was once again at the forefront of promoting and providing vaccinations. In addition to offering COVID-19 vaccines through her 16 clinics in the RGV, she used her 4 Mobile Clinics to go to patients who otherwise could not come to the clinic locations, thus removing the barrier of transportation. “If patients cannot come to us, we go out to them” is her mantra. As a result, the Mobile Clinics have gone near the U.S./Mexico border and to colonias to provide medical care for patients, including to offer COVID-19 vaccines.
Furthermore, Dr. Ashley Bose has partnered with Head Start Centers in low-income areas, and grocery stores such as Junior’s Supermarket, to offer these medical services. As of this writing—under Dr. Ashley’s Bose’s leadership—Ashley Pediatrics, Dr. Bose Industrial and Family Medicine (aka Industrial Health Works), standalone COVID test sites, and Mobile Clinics have performed over 250,000 COVID-19 tests and administered nearly 10,000 COVID-19 vaccines. This is in addition to nearly 150,000 patient visits these clinics provide each year.
In 2021, in honor of her mom Dr. Sarojini Bose and her legacy of service to the Hispanic community in the RGV, Dr. Ashley Bose founded the Dr. Bose Community Center. The purpose of this Center is to provide free education and job skills training for the people in the RGV community. Currently, there are two Centers – one in the City of Alton and the other in the City of Donna – and a third one is scheduled to open in the City of Mission in 2023. Since their inception, nearly 1,400 students have gone through the programs these Centers offer, such as: English as a Second Language (ESL); G.E.D.; clinical skills development to become phlebotomists, medical assistants, and or EKG technicians; classes on balloon arrangements, and cake decorating classes that equip people to perhaps open their own businesses, and other skills. Graduates of these programs have gone on to find jobs in their fields and have become valuable contributors to their families and community.
Under Dr. Ashley Bose’s leadership, Ashley Pediatrics and Dr. Bose Industrial and Family Medicine (aka Industrial Health Works) sponsor several events annually through the Dr. Bose Community Center: a “Back to School Event” that provides free backpacks and school supplies to children of the RGV; over 3,000 backpacks filled with school supplies are distributed each year benefitting over 1,000 families; and partnering with local churches located in poor neighborhoods to provide Thanksgiving lunches. About 200-300 families are served by this annual event. A “Toy Drive” event is sponsored in December; nearly 1,000 toys are given out each year to those children who are from poorer neighborhoods. Children look forward to attending this event as they get to have their pictures taken with Santa Claus and receive a toy as a Christmas present. Dr. Ashley Bose has a passion to motivate young people, especially young girls to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). To that end, in collaboration with her dad, Dr. Subhash Bose (a retired UTRGV professor of engineering), and the UTRGV College of Engineering & Computer Science, Dr. Ashley Bose sponsored an Inaugural Young Leader Prep Class this year. A total of 35 young girls from Hidalgo County’s Precincts 2, 3, and 4 participated in this multi-week program run by UTRGV’s women engineering faculty and students. Dr. Ashley Bose plans to be able to make it an annual event.
Dr. Ashley Bose’s Awards & Honors
The following is a sampling of awards and honors Dr. Ashley Bose has received in her young life. High School: Salutatorian of the class of 2007 from McAllen Memorial High School, McAllen, Texas; Induction into the National Honor Society; College at University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, Texas; Multiple times on the Dean’s List; University Scholar; Multiple scholarships: Gateway Scholarship; Raul Longoria Excellence Scholarship; Ambassador Scholarship; Jesse and Mary Jones Scholarship; and Baylor Pre-Med Scholarship; Outstanding student in Inorganic Chemistry; Graduated with a GPA of 4.0.
Dr. Ashley Bose’s Personal Accomplishments
Since returning to the RGV in 2020, Dr. Ashley Bose and the medical practices and community organizations she is a part of have been recognized by the following awards; By the Office of the Governor: Outstanding Community Partner award, October 2022; By the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce: Member of the Month, August 2022; By the UTRGV Office of Community Engagement & Enhancement Service: Community Partner Appreciation Award for the two Dr. Bose Community Centers, May 2022.
Dr. Ashley Bose’s Activities Outside the Scope of Employment
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical industries were seeking racially and ethnically diverse people to do clinical trials on for the development of their COVID-19 vaccines and anti-viral drugs. Dr. Ashley Bose entered into a partnership with PAS Research (www.pas-research.com) to carry out several of these clinical trials among the Hispanic population that Ashley Pediatrics and Dr. Bose Industrial and Family Medicine (aka Industrial Health Works) regularly serves in their clinics. This partnership has now expanded to include other clinical trials that are presented below, and these are expected to produce benefit for the children of the RGV; Phase II Growth and Safety Study of an Infant Formula for Healthy Term Infants; Immunogenicity and Safety Study of an Investigational Quadrivalent Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine Administered Concomitantly with Routine Pediatric Vaccines in Healthy Infants and Toddlers; Safety and Immunogenicity of GSK Meningococcal Group B Vaccine and 13-valent Pneumococcal Vaccine Administered Concomitantly with Routine Infant Vaccines to Healthy Infants; Growth and Tolerance of a Partially Hydrolyzed Cow’s Milk Protein (PHP) Infant Formula; Distinguish Respiratory Underlying Pathogen associated Host Response in Acute Respiratory Infection: An Evaluation of FebriDx POC Test.
