Distinguished Service Award
TTUHSC El Paso Professor Gilbert Handal, M.D., Receives Highest Honor for Service by Texas Medical Association
Gilbert Handal, M.D.
One of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s longest-serving professors and physicians received the highest honor a Texas physician can receive for outstanding service to the community and the state.
Gilbert Handal, M.D., a professor of pediatrics and a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at TTUHSC El Paso and Texas Tech Physicians El Paso, was named the 2023 Texas Medical Association’s Distinguished Service Award recipient.
“It’s an honor to be selected for this award, particularly because they look at my life of service in El Paso and beyond, of which I’m very proud,” said Dr. Handal, who is board certified in pediatrics, infectious disease and critical care. “I think it’s the most beautiful and fulfilling action to help others and change lives.”
Dr. Handal started his career at TTUHSC El Paso in 1975 after being recruited to head up the Division of Infectious Disease. He chose the position because of the demographics of the area and the opportunity to provide care to children and families in our Borderplex community.
“When I arrived, I felt I could be a pioneer in the health education system,” Dr. Handal said. “I believe strongly that medicine is my life, and it’s essential to care for others in as many ways as you can.”
Dr. Handal has served on numerous councils and in leadership positions in the El Paso County Medical Society, including as president in 2017. As president, he increased membership and faculty involvement in both the society and the Texas Medical Association and enhanced collaboration between TTUHSC El Paso physicians and local private-practice physicians. The El Paso County Medical Society is the organization that nominated Dr. Handal for the Texas Medical Association’s Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Handal has also served as the Marta Cuellar-Acuña chair for child advocacy in TTUHSC El Paso’s Department of Pediatrics, working with local officials to develop programming aimed at improving the lives of children in our community. In 2012, Dr. Handal was named founding chair of the university’s Global Health Committee, now known as the International Affairs Council.
During his tenure as regional chair, he developed five school district-based health care centers, directed a binational primary care system in Ciudad Juárez and had a great number of accomplishments working with several medical and pediatric societies in Latin America.
Locally, he serves as medical director for two of the largest school districts, Socorro and Ysleta Independent School Districts, and also co-founded the Advocacy Center for Children of El Paso and the Child Death Review Committee.
As a professor, Dr. Handal teaches the next generation of physicians, focusing on the importance of the overall health of a patient. He inspires students to use their knowledge to improve the community’s health by taking aim at the importance of a child’s longitudinal global development and family integrity.
“I understand the culture of the area and the needs of our patients, and I share that understanding with our students,” said Dr. Handal, who offers a wealth of knowledge from years of experience and dedication to diagnosis, therapeutics and preventive care to future physicians at TTUHSC El Paso’s Foster School of Medicine. “I want them to see that caring for others is about so much more than seeing a patient once or twice a year. It’s working with them in a way that changes their health and their life.”
Dr. Handal received his medical degree from the University of Chile in 1967 and completed his pediatric residency at the University of Chile and the University of Miami. He completed his infectious diseases and pediatric critical care fellowship at the University of Miami.
“I’m fulfilling the dreams I had when I came here,” Dr. Handal said. “To me, it’s essential to care for all people, and I’m grateful I can care for the people in this community and beyond.”
The Texas Medical Association presented the award to Dr. Handal during the organization’s House of Delegates meeting in Fort Worth in May. The Texas Medical Association is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 48,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state.
About Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
TTUHSC El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation students
Established as an independent university in the Texas Tech University System in 2013, TTUHSC El Paso is celebrating 10 years as a proudly diverse and uniquely innovative destination for education and research. According to a 2022 analysis, TTUHSC El Paso contributes $634.4 million annually to our Borderplex region’s economy.
With a mission of eliminating health care barriers and creating life-changing educational opportunities for Borderplex residents, TTUHSC El Paso has graduated over 2,000 doctors, nurses and researchers over the past decade, and will add dentists to its alumni beginning in 2025. For more information, visit ttuhscepimpact.org.