By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Real estate agent Javier “Javi” Calderon has joined the Val Verde County Hospital District Board of Directors as the trustee representing Precinct 4.
Calderon was sworn in as one of the board’s two new trustees during a regular board meeting at the Val Verde Regional Medical Center Wednesday, May 22.
Calderon was born in Ciudad Acuña, Coah., Mexico, and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2007. After graduating from Del Rio High School in 2004, Calderon continued his education at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2007. He also earned a certification in real estate studies at the Champions School of Real Estate in San Antonio in 2010.
Calderon gained experience working for companies including Amistad Lake Sports as a sales manager and as a finance director. He has also worked as a real estate agent for Amistad Realty & Associates, Keller Williams Real Estate, Lake Amistad Realty and Legacy Realty Group.
Becoming a member of the hospital board has been a highly personal journey for Calderon. At the age of 27, he was diagnosed with cancer, and due to what he felt was a lack of qualified resources in Del Rio, he had to see a specialist in San Antonio.
Calderon’s symptoms have been in remission for 11 years, but in 2023, his father was diagnosed with lung cancer. The best solution for his father was to also go to San Antonio.
Based on these experiences, Calderon said one of his goals as a new hospital board member is to help expand more local cancer care and resources for individuals in Del Rio.
Another of Calderon’s goals is to help provide better emergency assistance for patients. He said one of his concerns is getting more “compassionate care” for the hospital, whether it is through staff training, additional education or acquiring more technology and employees.
“I think we need to be on a dialogue pattern because if it is just one sided; if it is just what the hospital wants or what the district or community wants, I don’t think we will get anywhere. It has to be open dialogue, and I think that is a big step in moving us forward,” Calderon said in a recent interview with The 830 Times.
Calderon has also served as the treasurer of the Del Rio Parks Foundation, as vice president of the Del Rio Board of Realtors and a director on the Del Rio Economic Development Corporation. He said all those positions have given him experience with working alongside his peers in the community.
For the next few months, Calderon said he hopes to get an understanding of how the hospital board operates, review their past meetings and provide ideas for acquiring grants for the hospital and assist staff and board members.
