Alta Vista wins Ensign Flag for healthcare excellence

May 9—Only have a minute? Listen instead

Alta Vista Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Brownsville on Tuesday celebrated winning the Ensign Flag for excellence in healthcare among Ensign Group facilities for the second year in a row.

The Ensign Group awards the Ensign Flag as an indicator of having complied with a strict set of criteria for excellence in patient care, Ensign CEO Barry Port said during a morning a flag-raising ceremony.

"The criteria are very, very difficult and very few facilities win the flag. For example, in Texas we have 81 facilities and only three won the flag this year," Port said. Veranda Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Harlingen, also owned by Ensign, also won the flag for 2022 and a celebration was planned there in the afternoon

Alta Vista Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Brownsville is located at 510 Paredes Line Road.

Ensign Group, a healthcare services company, whose spectrum of services includes nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies, home health and hospice services, urgent care services and other rehabilitative and healthcare services, acquired Alta Vista and Veranda in 2009.

Both facilities provide senior healthcare services.

During the ceremony, Port recognized Alta Vista employees, among them director of nursing Jose Molina, medical director Dr. Lorenzo Pelly, director of marketing Alexa Yzaguirre, and Norma Guerrero, the facility's executive director.

Melissa Elizardi represented Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. as the flag was raised. Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda and Brownsville Independent School District Superintendent Rene Gutierrez also attended the ceremony.