NEWS
Faith Community Health System Bowie ER celebrates grand opening
It was a momentous day for the community of Bowie as local emergency healthcare returned with the grand opening of Faith Community Health System Bowie Emergency Room on Oct. 23.
Hospital officials, community leaders, board members, local medical personnel, hospital employees, and community members gathered under cloudy skies and light rain for the event, but it did not dampen the mood a bit as words of celebration were shared by all. The ceremony concluded with a ribbon cutting, snacks, and tours of sections of the facility. The ER began seeing patients on Oct. 1, which was a proud moment for all who have worked tirelessly for years to make the opening a reality after the closure of the former hospital.
Bowie Memorial Hospital closed its doors on Nov. 16, 2015, after nearly five decades of service to the area. In May 2017, the community was hopeful as the property reopened its doors as Central Hospital of Bowie, but once again, saw its doors closed in early 2020. It was the last rural hospital to see closure in the sate of Texas.
Emergency medical care became a major concern for the community as the property was in and out of the bank’s hands many times and up for sale on the courthouse steps. Citizens were made to rely on Nocona General Hospital and Wise Health Care in Decatur for emergency care.
Finally, the facility landed with investors who worked with Faith Community Health System. It was announced mid-August 2021 that they would open an emergency room at the former hospital location.
However, it was a longer process than anyone had anticipated as the building had been left to waste after its closing. Rain, freezing weather, thieves and neglect took a drastic toll by the time Faith Health System launched the renovation, but the last two years have been fraught with delays and unexpected costs, many caused by the pandemic and post-pandemic business environment. Renovations included new HVAC, wiring, roof and several large pieces of equipment including an MRI machine. The pandemic and resulting supply chain issues slowed the renovations.
There were years of behind-the-scenes work by many dedicated individuals to make the opening possible as they worked to overcome these obstacles and many more, a feat that Chief Executive Officer Frank Beaman could only compare to an iceberg in his opening statements during Monday’s ceremony.
“Driving here I thought, how do I characterize what has been done? All of you know the tip of an iceberg isn’t near what an iceberg looks like. This project was just like that. There was so much under the water that you didn’t see what all went on to make this possible,” said Beaman.
To read more, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of The Bowie News.
The second community meeting on needs for an emergency room or hospital in Bowie is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Bowie Community Center.
This is the second meeting to discuss these needs following the closure of the Faith Community Health Center emergency room on Oct. 6, just shy of a year of operation. More than 200 people attended that first meeting, where discussion centered on the creation of a taxing district to support any sort of medical facility.
Citizens in the Bowie area are encouraged to attend and take part in these discussions.
The Bowie City Council has moved its Nov. 18 meeting to 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 where three new council members will take the oath of office.
Councilors include Laura Sproles, precinct two, Brandon Walker, precinct one and Laramie Truax, precinct two. After the votes are canvassed and the oaths given, a mayor pro tem will be selected.
The new members will jump right into training as City Attorney Courtney Goodman-Morris provides an orientation and discussion of duties for council members.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will make his monthly report on the following topics: Nelson Street, which opened last Thursday, update on the sewer line replacement project, substation transformer placement and information on medical companies.
A closed executive session on the Laura McCarn vs. City of Bowie lawsuit is scheduled. The suit arose in November 2022 when the city broached selling some 25 acres it owns on Lake Amon G. Carter, originally part of the land purchased for the 500-acre Bowie Reservoir completed in 1985.
McCarn challenges the ownership of the property stating it should revert to the original owners since it was not used for the lake.
This 24.35 acre tract is located at the end of Indian Trail Road surrounded by the lake and the Silver Lakes Ranch subdivision.
One of Bowie’s major thoroughfares, Nelson Street, was reopened Thursday after one busy block has been closed since August 2021 when a section of the street failed.
Construction finally came to an end on Thursday when the street, including the Nelson and Mill intersection were reopened. Mayor Gaylynn Burris, City Manager Bert Cunningham, Councilors TJay McEwen and Stephanie Post, Engineer Mike Tibbetts and Public Works Director Stony Lowrance met at the site Thursday morning and removed the barricades. It only took a few minutes for vehicles to start arriving and drivers were excited to go through on the new roadway.
This section of Bowie has endured flooding and drainage problems for many years and in the summer of 2023 the city council finally bit the bullet and sought bids for the repair work expected to top $3 million. In August 2021 a one block section of Nelson was closed when a large sinkhole appeared on the north side of the street. Traffic had to be diverted including all the school traffic flowing from the nearby junior high and intermediate.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
Top photo – (Left) Mike Tibbetts, engineer with Hayter Engineering, talks with Bowie City Manager Bert Cunningham as they look over the massive drainage project on Nelson Street.
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