EDINBURG — Nearly two years after its groundbreaking, a new patient tower at South Texas Health System Edinburg is partially opening its doors.
STHS Edinburg, formerly Edinburg Regional Medical Center, celebrated the completion and opening of the first two floors of their new patient tower with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning.
The five-story patient tower will be home to the hospital’s new emergency department and a radiology department on the first floor and an intensive care unit on the second floor.
With its opening, the $105 million facility more than doubles the hospital’s overall size, adding 59 new adult beds for a total of 202 total beds at STHS Edinburg.
The radiology department will feature 640-slice CT scanner, a 40-slice CT scanner, and 3T MRI which will “provide the highest quality images as well as shorter exam times,” said Lance Ames, CEO of STHS Edinburg and STHS Children’s.
Hospital officials highlighted the new emergency department in particular, which was relocated from the back of the hospital on the east side of the original building to the corner of Trenton and Sugar Roads in the new patient tower.
“That was a strategic move,” said Tom Castañeda, STHS spokesman. “The tower now houses the hospital’s emergency room to give paramedics and community members seeking emergency, trauma, and critical care services faster, easier access to the ER which has been expanded and enhanced.”
The new ER will have 20 emergency bays including four triage rooms, two trauma rooms, two secure exam rooms, and 12 exam rooms.
On the second floor, the ICU will have 16 patient rooms that have their own private restroom and shower area and two rooms feature ceiling-mounted bariatric lifts for patient and staff safety.
Officials also tout the larger windows throughout the new tower that will allow for more natural lighting and upgraded safety features such as wall railings and rounded corners.
The remaining floors will house inpatient rehabilitation on the third floor and an adult inpatient nursing unit on the fourth floor.
State Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, appeared overjoyed with the opening of the new tower, saying that it addressed one of the concerns he had about the region which is health care security.
“That’s what this represents — health care security,” Canales said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, “making sure that we’re not at a deficit when it comes to hospital beds and South Texas Health System understands that. That’s what this is about.”
Ames added that as the Valley keeps growing, there is only going to be more need for more patient beds and that necessity was already seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the pandemic we were so challenged with beds for our patients and, now, having the ability to add 59 more beds is going to really help us with our healthcare infrastructure to take care of our Valley’s needs,” Ames said.
“Emergency services are so critical,” he continued, “doubling the square-footage of our ER is going to help make sure that we have patients that are in dedicated rooms, more comfortable and not in hallways.”
The new tower will be open to the public on Monday. The remaining floors are scheduled to open in September.
