Dr. Oscar Enriquez
The president of the United Catanduanes San Diego, which recently sent relief goods to the island in its latest Gift of Love humanitarian mission, has been appointed health authority in the city of Port Arthur, Texas, USA.
Late last month, the Port Arthur City Council approved the hiring of Dr. Oscar Enriquez as health authority and supervising physician for the Employee Health Services Clinic, following the retirement of the 85-year old Dr. William George after 25 years in the position.
A native of Virac, Catanduanes who left the country in 1987 in search of the American Dream, Enriquez is an internal medicine specialist with two offices in Port Arthur and has 36 years of experience practicing medicine. He has lived in the city since 1996.
“I am excited to be part of the team,” Enriquez told the PA News. “When I got the job offer, I only had 24 hours to make the decision. But it is an honor to be part of the team under the leadership of Judith Smith.”
Smith, who is the director of the Port Arthur Health Department, said she reached out to Enriquez after learning of George’s decision to retire on short notice.
Asked what helped him decide to take the offer, Enriquez said: “I think I would reach out to the community. This would be a way of reaching out and reaching more people. That’s the reason I joined. I think I would be able to touch more lives and help with health issues. I would like to give more education to our area, especially at the time of this coronavirus pandemic.”
While Smith oversees the health authority, Enriquez will meet with staff and sign off on medical records in the PAHD.
According to the PA News story, Enriquez will be paid $60,000 per year in his city capacity.
Oscar, who will turn 62 this Feb. 15, 2021, recalls that he was a member of the St. Cecilia’s Choir in Virac from 1975 to 1978 before he went to study medicine at the Far Eastern University Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation (FEU-NRMF) where he also became a member of the FEU Medical Glee Club.
Graduating in 1984, he left the country three years later to seek better opportunities in the USA, first working as a telemetry technician in San Diego, California.
From 1988 he worked as a Medical Technologist until his acceptance in a residency training program in Youngstown Ohio in 1992.
He subsequently obtained his Medical License in the States of Texas, California. Pennsylvania and Ohio.
A Diplomate of the American Board of Geriatric Medicine, he founded Standard Medical Clinic, PA in Port Arthur, Texas in 2001, expanding his patient base and moving to his own building in 2006.
A former president of the Texas Association of Philippine Physicians in 2004, Dr. Enriquez has been very active in community outreach programs both in the US and the Philippines.