Clinica Santa Maria: Putting Women’s Health First
Krystal Krenek
Clinica Santa Maria of Brownsville has been meeting women’s health needs for over 30 years. Dr. Laura Ceballos and Nurse Practitioner Laura Guerra care for the patients of the Los Ebanos branch and continue to keep pace with the advancements in obstetrics and gynecology.
From adolescent care to maternity to all facets of gynecological care, Clinica Santa Maria covers all aspects of all generations of women and works to treat the whole patient. There is even a nutritionist on staff and a med spa within the clinic.
“We spend a lot of time with our patients and want them to feel good about themselves and live healthy lives,” Dr. Ceballos shares.
Diabetes, hypertension, and weight maintenance are issues that women can face, and the staff of Clinica Santa Maria oversees various issues that affect the overall health of their patients. Through their spa, they offer services such as Botox, microdermabrasion, weight management counseling, and HCG diet support. Today, the trend is to offer more in-office procedures that lower costs for patients while providing additional services. Now, even tubal sterilizations and endometrial ablations are offered in-office and do not require a hospital visit.
With the advancements in the practice of gynecology, Clinica Santa Maria is well versed in what is being offered today in practices and procedures. Staying up to date with the current and progressive tendencies is high on their list of patient care. The clinic is additionally fully capable of taking care of high risk patients and handling a wide variety of obstetric services. Clinica Santa Maria has three branches throughout the city of Brownsville – Los Ebanos, Southmost, and Lakeview. Their convenient locations and staff of four physicians and three nurse practitioners are committed to women’s health services.
Dr. Laura Ceballos is from Alice, an
d she met and married her husband, Ruben, who was born and raised in Brownsville. Ceballos attended the University of Texas San Antonio and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She attended medical school at UT Health Science Center San Antonio. She finished her residency in 2005 at Lubbock’s University Medical Center. Both Laura and Ruben grew up visiting the coast and spending time at the beach, and that is something she missed during her time in Lubbock. They knew they wanted to be close to the coast and felt Brownsville would be a good fit for the start of their life together. In fact, Ceballos said “Brownsville found me.”
Clinica Santa Maria was recruiting, and after visiting with them, Ceballos needed to look no further for the home of her career. She has now been with the Los Ebanos branch for two and a half years. She and Ruben are the proud parents of an 18 month old son, Marcelo, and they feel blessed to be so close to their families and appreciate the tremendous help and support they are.
Nurse Practitioner Laura Guerra was born and raised in San Benito. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a nurse. She was inspired by her mother growing up; Guerra watched her supervise the Cameron County Health Department for over 30 years and worked there herself for a period of time near the start of her career. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio in 2004. She initially worked in Labor and Delivery for one year but ultimately knew she wanted to be out of a hospital setting and work as a nurse practitioner in a clinical setting. Guerra went through the Nurse Practitioner certification program in women’s health at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Guerra met Dr. Dagoberto Martinez with Clinica Santa Maria and knew working there would be a great opportunity to learn even more. She joined their team in 2008 and has gleaned from their education-driven approach. She enjoys helping people through all different levels of needs. In her line of work, Guerra has had the opportunity to work with women of all generations in their continuity of care, and seeing how small changes in their lifestyle can make a big difference in their health is very rewarding for her.
“I love to see women through all stages of prenatal care, the development of their pregnancy, and then as they come back in with their beautiful newborn. It is very gratifying to have taken care of them their entire pregnancy,” Guerra offers.
Wanting to stay competitive in her field, Guerra earned her Masters of Science in Nursing in March of this year from Drexel University in Philadelphia with a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner specialization. The balancing act of raising a young family and climbing the ladder in her career felt very fulfilling when her family traveled to Pennsylvania to see her graduate. Guerra and her husband, Fred, have two children – Jake, 5, and Isabella, 2.
The women of Clinica Santa Maria take the health needs of all women to heart and invest their time and talents in providing the highest quality medical care in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. As advancements in the industry continue to move forward, Clinica Santa Maria will persist in putting women’s health first.
Clinica Santa Maria’s Los Ebanos branch is located at 1076 Los Ebanos in Brownsville. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8 to 5. To schedule an appointment, call the office at 956.544.2001. For more information, visit their website at www.ClinicaSantaMaria.com.
