ORANGE, Texas — A new hospital in Orange County is one step closer to opening its doors and serving the community.
12News was at the ground breaking of the Gisela Houseman Medical Campus January 2022.
At that point, the site along Interstate 10 and Highway 62 was just an empty field, but now concrete is poured, some windows are installed and the roof is finished.
The bottom floor will house a 24-hour emergency room and hospital while second floor will mainly be used for medical office space for primary care doctors and specialists.
CHRISTUS Health Southeast Texas Vice President of Strategy and Business Development Kevin Parsley says they're excited to offer these services to the community.
"We'll have 24/7 emergency services, in-patient facilities, as well as full outpatient diagnostics, imaging, labs. So, we're excited about offering those for the community as well as a dedicated woman's center," he said.
The Gisela Houseman Medical Campus will be 55,000 square feet and will spread across more than 20 acres. It will be staffed by CHRISTUS Southeast Texas.
"Treat patients quicker, but also ensure they have access to higher levels of care if needed and within the community," Parsley said.
It will be the first hospital in Orange since 2017.
Orange Mayor Larry Spears Jr. says this is personal.
"For all of these years now there are several people that we have heard from family members and other instances where they've said, 'well if there were something closer they may have made it,'" Spears said.
The hospital is on track to open medical offices by summer 2023 and the emergency room by the fall.
RELATED: Officials say convenience of new Orange hospital could be the difference between life and death
Many are relieved knowing they will no longer have to drive to Beaumont for health care or during emergencies.
“It’s very much needed here in Orange County,” Darlene Farek, ER clinical director at CHRISTUS St. Mary previously told 12News. “I think it’s really important to have healthcare in a community like this, that’s vulnerable to hurricanes and floods.”
The Gisela Houseman Medical Campus will get rid of a more than 20 minute drive for most residents in need of care.
“We've got great hospitals surrounding us, but it's a drive to get there, and we've had incidents in past years where that drive has cost someone their life,” Orange County Judge John Gothia previously told 12News.
City officials said being one of the largest counties in Texas without a hospital was not what they wanted to be known for.
“We worked very, very hard,” Judge Gothia said. “Everyone has worked very hard to be sure we have good medical care for our citizens in Orange County.”
The building will also feature private offices for doctors such as Marty Rutledge. Rutledge said his work on the project has been some of his most meaningful work yet.
“It's right at the top, it really is. It's great for the community, and it's great for our patients,” Rutledge said. “I’m concerned about patient care. I've been here for a long time. I love my patients, and I want to see them have the best care possible.”
The building is named after the woman who donated land to help make it possible. Gisela Houseman has been a resident of Orange for 35 years and donated all the land needed for the medical campus.
“Having my name on it is unbelievable,” Houseman said. “I’m just so honored, because my part is a very small part actually. I just got the opportunity to give back to the community, so I’m just delighted that I was able to give back a little bit.”
The collaborative effort between Orange residents, officials, healthcare professionals and others made the medical campus possible.
“Really enables us to have easy access to all the communities in Orange and the surrounding areas," Paul Trevino, CEO at CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health Systems, said. “State of the art facilities, state of the art equipment, state of the art people, we are really just bringing the best that we have to this community."