Impacting Rural Healthcare in America

Uvalde, Texas – (Realty News Report) – Hoar Construction is nearing completion on the Uvalde Memorial Hospital – a new development that represents another step to address nationwide concerns about delivering quality healthcare to America’s small towns and rural areas.

Located about 80 miles west of San Antonio, the Uvalde community is building a hospital to replace its obsolete hospital built in 1972.

“Rural hospitals that require expansion or replacement are often caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Jonathan Mouton, senior project manager at Hoar Construction. “Many providers face the mounting risk of increased operating costs and lost revenues due to lack of or outdated services, yet also must deal with the overwhelming prospect of funding constraints that limit or even prevent investment in capital programs that are vital for their continued existence.”

The $90 million Uvalde Memorial Hospital marks sixth rural healthcare project for firm in the Lone Star State.

The new 170,000-SF facility is slated to open in Fall 2021, and will replace the original hospital building that has been in operation since 1972. Recent growth in Uvalde and surrounding communities helped spur efforts by the UMH administration to build the new facility, which will feature a new radiology department, occupational therapy department, and intensive care unit, along with modern amenities that are not currently available for patients, visitors and staff.

UMH was originally built in 48 years ago, and even with additions and renovations over the years, the hospital’s infrastructure was at the end of its life cycle. The replacement hospital started initial site work in late 2019.

The new building, designed by Perkins + Will architects, will include 132,870 SF of institutional space, 31,872 SF of administrative space, and a 11,500 SF central utility plant.

In addition, the replacement facility will house an emergency department, physical and occupational therapy department, radiology department, urgent care department, an intensive care unit, a 25-bed medical surgical inpatient unit, and 16 outpatient beds. The new and improved building delivers a superior level of care with upgraded amenities that are not currently available for patients, visitors, and staff.

This week, Hoar Construction and hospital officials are celebrating the topping out of constructing Uvalde Memorial.

“This construction project brings the number of major construction and renovation projects that I have been involved in to twelve,” said UMH Hospital CEO Tom Nordwick. “This one is larger in scope than most of those projects, so it is reassuring to have a firm with the background and experience that Hoar brings to the table.”

File: Impacting Rural Healthcare in America

Image: Rendering. Perkins + Will