Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville

Description

Valley Baptist Health System has earned a reputation as a health care leader with our dedicated staff modern facilities stateoftheart technology and commitment to providing for the health of our community Today our notforprofit health system is one of the largest in South Texas with more than 800 beds Valley Baptist is a community health service performing spirituallybased health education and charitable programs in accordance with the teachings and healing ministry of Jesus Christ

Incorporating the latest in technology with a commitment to compassionate faithbased care both Valley Baptist Medical CenterHarlingen and Valley Baptist Medical CenterBrownsville have established a reputation for serving Valley residents like nowhere else

Every day for more than 80 years lives have been saved simultaneously at both the hospital in Brownsville and the hospital in Harlingen The histories of the two hospitals parallel each other as both are stories of caring people reaching out to help the sick and dying in service to their communities And now those histories are intertwined with both hospitals being part of the Valley Baptist family

As our organization moves toward the future we focus on five strategic initiatives in order to achieve a shared vision to accomplish our mission as the leading health care provider in South Texas Integration Simplicity Six Sigma Relentless Service and Service Expansion and Regionalization

Valley Baptist Health System offers the following integrated entities to serve the overall health care needs of you and your family

Mission Statement
Valley Baptist Health System is a community health service performing spiritually based health education and charitable programs in accordance with the teachings and healing ministry of Jesus Christ

Valley Baptist Core Beliefs

In all we do we value
The whole person body mind spirit
Treating all people with dignity
Excellence quality and improvement
Collaboration
Being effective stewards
Integrity and honesty
Valley Baptist Values

Disciplined
Accountable
Entrepreneurial
Performance Oriented
Vision of the Future

Valley Baptist Health System will be a faith based regional health care system serving patients and people throughout South Texas It will be distinguished by high quality care outstanding service and excellent operations
Community Commitment

To manage our civic responsibilities effectively
To pursue healthrelated education and research

History

A Common History of Serving Our Communities
Valley Baptist Harlingen and Valley Baptist Brownsville

Valley BaptistHarlingen and Valley BaptistBrownsville both had humble beginnings in the early days of the 20th Century Both hospitals can trace their roots back to dedicated doctors and visionary citizens in their communities and to Christian organizations seeking to serve God by serving their fellow human beings

In Brownsville in the year 1913 Miss Nora Kelly opened the Charity Home on Madison Street to serve the homeless Two years later the Mexican Revolution brought about the need for a place that could provide medical care People were fleeing north across the border some needing treatment from wartime injuries while others were suffering from diseases such as yellow fever and diphtheria Ms Kelly received a donation of 14000 from the Stillman Family one of the founding families of Brownsville to address this problem In 1917 Divine Providence Hospital opened with the Sisters of Mercy at the helm This facility quickly proved to be too small for a growing Brownsville Thanks to the donation of a land site by James Stillman and to the generosity of other Brownsville residents Mercy Hospital opened in July of 1923 at E Jefferson and Central Boulevard

Meanwhile 25 miles north in Harlingen the year 1923 was also an important date for the founding of a hospital as that is the year that a group of dedicated citizens saw the need for a modern medical facility in Harlingen These residents including Dr N A Davidson Dr G W Letzerick S G Stringer and Judge Fred Bennett set out to build on a foundation that had been laid by Harlingens original 10bed hospital which was located on quotFquot Street between Harrison and Tyler streets in a converted frame house owned by Mrs Ida Gilbert Harlingens new 36bed hospital was also built on quotFquot Street a few blocks away from the original 10bed facility Valley Baptist Hospital owned by the Lower Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association opened as a not for profit community hospital on January 22 1925

Both the hospitals in Brownsville and Harlingen experienced rapid growth In Brownsville the hospital treated 390 patients in 1923 1083 patients in 1943 4361 in 1953 and 20000plus patients in 1983 In Harlingen the bed count at Valley Baptist increased from 36 beds in 1925 to 82 beds in 1943 and more than 400 beds by the 1980s Both hospitals have been major contributors to the local economy with Valley BaptistHarlingen now employing more than 2200 people and Valley BaptistBrownsville employing about 800 local residents

Over the years both hospitals eventually experienced changes in ownership In Harlingen the Baptist General Convention of Texas acquired the hospital in 1945 In Brownsville the hospital was known as Mercy Hospital or La Merced for 50 years until 1973 when it came under corporate ownership and became Brownsville Medical Center In 2004 the Brownsville hospital was purchased by Valley Baptist Health System and its name changed to Valley Baptist Medical CenterBrownsville

Along with the growth and changes came extensive building projects at both the hospitals in Harlingen and Brownsville In Harlingen Valley Baptist moved to its present location on Pease Street off Ed Carey Drive in Harlingen in 1956 A sixstory South Tower was built at ValleyBaptist Harlingen in the 1980s followed by the fourstory East Tower in 1998 and a sixstory Medical Arts Pavilion in 2001 The East Tower features the Valleys first Childrens Center for pediatric patients a MotherBaby obstetrical unit which emphasizes familycentered maternity care a 32bed gynecology unit a 38bed Newborn Intensive Care Unit convenient areas for outpatient services a 30bed Day Surgery Center operating rooms a rooftop heliport and a 32room stateoftheart Emergency Department

In Brownsville a new wing and major renovations were added in 1952 resulting in an emergency room pediatric and psychiatric units a new laboratory and an operating room along with air conditioning In 1963 the Brownsville hospital added 52 more beds a labor and delivery area surgical suites and a radiology department In 1983 part of the original 1923 building in Brownsville was demolished and replaced with the current threestory patient tower In 1999 the third floor of the Womens Center and Emergency Department threestory tower opened in Brownsville The addition included ten LaborDeliveryRecovery Suites four Womens Surgery Suites observation areas and an expanded 34bed neonatal intensive care nursery Then in 2003 and 2004 the Brownsville hospital expanded its Radiology Department which featured a new CT Scanner Angiography Suite ultrasound systems and nuclear medicine camera Also in the last decade t