Developers and partners with a proposed new Sherman hospital are giving new details about the project and what medical services it could bring to Sherman and the Texoma region.
As a part of the announcement, representatives with the project announced partnerships with local organizations and individuals, including the city of Sherman, area tribal nations, representatives with the Wilson N. Jones foundation and others. Among the partners for this project is Ron Seal, who will serve as the new chief executive officer for the hospital and previously served for several years as the CEO of Texoma Medical Center before leaving about two years ago.
“I know Sherman has been trying to get a hospital for three or four years,” Seal said. “There was a group trying to put one in south Sherman down there. They have been trying to get started for a while, but we really over the past year implemented a strong approach to trying to get this.”
While Seal came onboard the project about a year ago, officials with Community Hospital Corporation said the conversations on the potential of a new hospital date back several years and include conversations the city had with other hospital groups.
CHC has detailed plans for Heritage Regional Medical Center, a new 100-bed acute care hospital that is expected to be built in the Heritage Ranch planned development along the intersection of FM 1417 and US Highway 82. This could serve as the major anchor for the development and spur additional healthcare developments in its proximity.
Michael Morgan, a senior vice president for CHC over strategic analysis, said a working group was formed about a year ago to look deeper into the possibility of hospital development in Sherman. CHC operates hospitals across the state, including a hospital in Gainesville and a 400-bed facility in Beaumont.
The recent growth in Sherman, including the recent expansions of Texas Instruments and GlobalWafers has spurred growth in the region that has led to an increasing demand for medical services, Morgan said. This growth has put a strain on the region’s resources, Seal said, and led to the need for a new provider.
“TMC is running pretty full, and we have more growth coming, and we need a really strong-type hospital to continue the quality of healthcare for our region.” Seal said.
The hospital could have a significant draw with regard to attracting patients from across both North Texas and Southern Oklahoma, Seal said.
“I truly see us being able to reach up to McAllister, Oklahoma to the north,” Seal said, adding that the hospital could draw patients from Paris to the east. “I see us reaching to the south, likely as far south as McKinney because there are going to be people in McKinney I see wanting to come here for their healthcare.”
Seal said he does expect to see some level of synergistic development and growth surrounding the hospital from related services, including medical offices, connected surgical centers and other facilities. It remains to be determined if there will be partnerships with other organizations, including the Sherman Medical Center, formerly known as Wilson N. Jones Medical Center.
“That is to be determined, obviously, of what particular interest we can have from them and with them,” he said. “I will not say there won’t be some type of that connection, but this is obviously going to be a standalone facility of its own. I know we are going to have services here that Wilson N. Jones, currently Sherman Medical Center, doesn’t have. We could have relationships where we can provide services for them if they need them.”
Morgan said the hospital will use a not-for-profit business model while Seal added that developers plan to invest and participate in the community with local operation if the project moves forward.
“It means structurally it is a 501(c)(3),” Morgan said. “So, there is a non-for-profit mission. There is indigent care that takes place. There is a certain kind of legal not-for-profit aspect of the hospital operations that has to be met in order to be a not-for-profit operator.”
Morgan declined to comment on any possible incentives from the city of Sherman that could help finance the development of the hospital. When asked for comment, officials with the city of Sherman deferred to representatives for CHC.
“They (Sherman) certainly are involved in the project as our stakeholder, and have been and I think from our perspective involved, invested and generally great to work with so far as we see through the development of the hospital,” Morgan said.
