The City of Victoria’s Town Talk podcast kicked off a two-part series on Victoria’s local hospitals with an episode featuring Citizens Medical Center CEO Mike Olson, who visited to discuss advances at the hospital as well as the importance of high-quality local health care.
Olson’s 30-year career in health care has led his family to live in many different states, so he speaks from experience when he says that Victoria is “a great place to be.”
The episode highlighted the role of health care in growing Victoria, through improving quality of life as well as job creation. With over 1,200 employees, Citizens is one of the largest employers in Victoria.
“That is the group that really makes us click and helps us to be successful in all we’re doing,” Olson said. “We can have all the greatest buildings and technology, but our people are what really make a difference for us.”
Olson commented that many residents are unaware of the quality of care that they can receive locally, and he is trying to spread the word that residents do not need to travel to bigger cities for treatment.
“I know people that have thought, ‘Well, for cancer, I’ve got to go to Houston,’ and they’ll go up there and get a treatment plan, and then they find out they have to go up there every day for radiation therapy,” Olson said. “Radiation therapy is exactly the same in Houston as it is in Victoria, so why travel so far when you’re sick and not feeling well, every day, when you could get it done here locally?”
Olson also outlined recent and upcoming improvements at Citizens, including the addition of more specialty physicians who will expand the treatment options available to residents.
To learn more, watch or listen to the latest episode of Town Talk on YouTube at Victoria Texas Videos or on Spotify at Town Talk (City of Victoria).
Residents are invited to tune in to Town Talk on June 30 for the second episode of the health care series, featuring DeTar Healthcare System CEO Bernard Leger.