Rice Medical Center launches transformational expansion to strengthen emergency and wellness services for rural Texas communities
EAGLE LAKE — When a medical emergency happens, every second matters. In rural America, access to quality healthcare can mean the difference between receiving life-saving treatment close to home or traveling miles away while precious time slips by. Rural hospitals are more than healthcare facilities—they are economic engines, major employers, and often the cornerstone of a community's well-being. They provide comfort during life's most difficult moments, celebrate life's greatest joys, and ensure families have access to quality care where they live, work, and raise their children.
At Rice Medical Center, it believes every person deserves access to exceptional healthcare, regardless of their ZIP code. For more than 80 years, they have remained committed to their mission of 'Our Family Caring for Yours,' delivering 'Big City Medicine with a Small-Town Heart.' Those aren't just taglines—they are promises that guide every decision they make and every patient it serves.
Today, that commitment is stronger than ever. Rice Medical Center is moving forward with plans to construct a new Emergency Trauma Center and Wellness Center, representing one of the largest healthcare investments in the community's history. This nearly $34 million project is designed to ensure that residents throughout Colorado County and neighboring communities continue to receive high-quality healthcare without leaving the place they call home.
The new Emergency Trauma Center will provide larger treatment areas, improved trauma capabilities, modern patient rooms, and expanded capacity to meet the growing demand for emergency care. As a Level IV Trauma Center, Rice Medical Center serves as a critical lifeline for thousands of patients each year. This expansion will allow its physicians and staff to continue delivering advanced emergency medicine while preparing for the healthcare needs of future generations.
Connected to the Emergency Trauma Center will be a state-ofthe- art Wellness Center focused on improving the health of its community long before an emergency ever occurs. The facility will feature expanded physical, occupational, and speech therapy services, an aquatic therapy pool, behavioral health services, rotating specialty clinics, community education space, medically supervised wellness programs, and a community fitness center de signed to encourage healthier lifestyles while providing convenient access to wellness resources close to home. By expanding access to preventive care, rehabilitation, and wellness services, it can help people stay healthier while reducing the need for more intensive medical care in the future.
'This project isn't simply about constructing a new building,' said Kurt Sunderman, chief executive officer of Rice Medical Center. 'It is about preserving and strengthening rural healthcare for generations to come. We are building a place where our community can receive advanced emergency care, recover from illness or injury, improve their health, and continue living healthier lives—all close to home.'
Jamy Dingler, who serves as chairman of the Rice Medical Center Governing Board and a Director of the Rice Hospital District, said the project reflects the shared commitment of both boards to preserving healthcare access for future generations.
“Having the privilege to serve on both the Rice Medical Center Governing Board and the Rice Hospital District Board gives me a unique perspective on the importance of this project,” Dingler said. “The Governing Board is focused on ensuring the hospital continues to deliver exceptional care today while building a stronger organization for tomorrow. The Hospital District exists to support that mission by helping preserve access to quality healthcare for our community. This expansion is one of the most significant investments we have made in our future. It will allow Rice Medical Center to meet the growing healthcare needs of our region, attract the next generation of healthcare providers, and ensure that families can continue to receive outstanding care close to home for decades to come.”
Rice Medical Center has launched a $15 million Capital Campaign to help fund this transformational project and provide the advanced medical equipment, technology, and services that will make these new facilities a reality. The campaign offers numerous naming opportunities for individuals, families, businesses, and foundations wishing to leave a lasting legacy in support of healthcare for generations to come.
The Rice Hospital District has already demonstrated its commitment by investing approximately $10 million toward the project. To ensure construction can move forward, the hospital district is prepared to fi nance any remaining project costs through revenue bonds that will be repaid through the existing lease agreement with Rice Medical Center using non-tax revenues, not through additional local taxes.
Momentum for the project continues to build. Rice Medical Center has received growing interest from generous individuals, businesses, foundations, and community partners who share our vision of transforming healthcare for this region.
Their enthusiasm reflects a common belief that investing in local healthcare is one of the greatest gifts we can leave future generations.
Construction is anticipated to begin later this year, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Rice Medical Center and the communities they proudly serve.
For more than eight decades, Rice Medical Center has stood beside the community through life's greatest joys and greatest challenges. Now, together, they have the opportunity to build something that will benefit families, friends, and generations yet to come.
Because when a community invests in healthcare, it invests in its future. And together, they will continue providing Big City Medicine with a Small-Town Heart through Their Family Caring for Yours for many decades to come.
To learn more about the Emergency Trauma Center and Wellness Center project, available naming opportunities, or how you can support the Capital Campaign, please contact Rice Medical Center at 979232-7102.
Rice Medical Center is a nonprofit rural healthcare or ganization serving Eagle Lake and surrounding communities.
Located at 600 S. Austin Rd. in Eagle Lake, Rice Medical Center provides 24/7 Emergency and Level IV Trauma services, inpatient and outpatient care, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, rehabilitation therapies, specialty clinics, and primary care through Rice Medical Associates.
Guided by its mission to provide compassionate, high-quality healthcare close to home, Rice Medical Center remains committed to improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
