Helping to break ground for a new emergency room at Harlingen Medical Center
(HMC) are, from the left, Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell; David Glassburn,
HMC Chief Financial Officer; Amy Flores, HMC Chief Nursing Officer; Brenda
Ivory, President & CEO at Harlingen Medical Center; HMC Governing
Board Members Dr. Cecil Simmons, Dr. Hugo Blake (who also serves as Chief
of Staff for HMC), Michael Scott, and Michael Rinaldi; and Texas State
Representative Eddie Lucio III.
Project includes new emergency room, cardiac catheterization laboratories,
gastrointestinal labs, operating rooms
Harlingen – A new emergency room for Harlingen Medical Center -- along with
new cardiac catheterization laboratories for heart patients, new endoscopy
laboratories to treat gastro-intestinal problems, and additional operating
rooms for surgical procedures – broke ground on July 6, 2016.
The groundbreaking took place in front of the award-winning and nationally
recognized hospital – near its current Emergency Room entrance.
Speakers at the ceremony included State Representative Eddie Lucio III,
Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell, and Brenda Ivory, President and Chief Executive
Officer at Harlingen Medical Center.
"This is a major expansion which will allow us to better meet the
needs of our growing community, and to serve more people with the quality,
compassionate and personalized type of care that our patients have come
to expect from Harlingen Medical Center," Ms. Ivory said.
When completed, the new ER will include 22 beds or "bays," including
two trauma bays, an isolation room, and two "fast-track" bays
designed for rapid treatment of patients, said Dr. Michael Mohun, Medical
Director and Trauma Director of the Emergency Room at Harlingen Medical
Center, a Level IV Trauma Center hospital.
"Harlingen Medical Center is known for its rapid, efficient delivery
of medical care," Dr. Mohun said. "This expansion will allow
patients to continue to receive emergency treatment when they need it,
from the most experienced board-certified emergency physicians available
in Cameron County."
The expanded Cardiovascular Center at Harlingen Medical Center, once completed,
will boast three state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories
for patients who need life-saving treatments to open a blocked blood vessel
to their heart. Cardiologists at Harlingen Medical Center have received
national recognition for heart treatment, which in some cases includes
inserting a tiny metal device called a stent and / or a tiny balloon to
open clogged arteries.
"We are looking forward to this expansion, so that we can treat more
heart and vascular patients in the Rio Grande Valley," said Linda
Bull, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Harlingen
Medical Center.
The project will also include expansion of Harlingen Medical Center's
Radiology and Imaging Department. This area will grow with an "Imaging
Suite," where additional CT-scans, X-rays and ultrasound procedures
may be performed.
In addition, the growth will include a more sizeable operating room, to
the OR Department, which will provide more space for various types of
surgeries, including orthopedic surgery (such as knee and hip replacements)
and trauma surgeries.
The project also includes re-location of a "cystoscopy room"
for patients with bladder problems or needing surgery for their urinary
tract, to within the operating room suites.
Julie Bannert, Director of Surgical Services at Harlingen Medical Center,
said this in turn will allow for an upgrade to the hospital's endoscopy
rooms, where patients receive potentially life-saving colonoscopy screenings,
as well as diagnosis and treatment of various disorders of the stomach
and intestines.
She added that the renovations will also allow for more beds in the hospital's
growing "Day Patient" area, for patients needing minor surgeries
or procedures (those which do not require overnight hospitalization).
For more information on the expansion project, please visit
www.HarlingenMedicalCenter.com or contact Manny Chacon, Regional Director of Business Development and
Marketing for Harlingen Medical Center, at (956) 365-1848 or
mchacon@PrimeHealthCare.com.