County and city leaders in Starr County asked Gov. Greg Abbott for help to boost healthcare resources in their area.

They met with the governor after his stop in Edinburg to announce the new level one trauma designation for DHR Health.

READ ALSO: DHR Health in Edinburg becomes first Level 1 Trauma Center in Rio Grande Valley  

Starr County only has one hospital. Rio Grande City Mayor Joel Villarreal also says there’s a lack of doctors, saying he told the governor there are only ten doctors available for about 70,000 residents countywide.

Officials hope the governor will support a possible research partnership facility to create more specialty clinics.

"Over 95 percent of our population is Hispanic,” said Starr County Judge Eloy Vera. “We have a lot of diabetes, a lot of obesity; a lot of things that are very detrimental to our community."

Judge Vera also mentioned officials are discussing with the governor the possibility of making Starr County Regional Hospital a residency hospital to meet the critical need of more nurses and doctors.