FORT WORTH, Texas — Employees at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance celebrated the grand opening of a 3-story, $74 million expansion of the hospital’s main patient bed tower. The 65,000-square-foot addition includes an expansion of the women and infants center and 10 emergency department beds to the existing 28, including a 7-bay ED fast track area.

CEO Barclay Berdan cuts the ribbon to open the new expansion at Texas Health Alliance.

“When we first opened our doors in 2012, we committed to be a hospital built by the community, for the community, and we continue to serve our community today through this new vertical expansion,” said Clint Abernathy, president of Texas Health Alliance. “In the Alliance area today, 70,000 rooftops are currently under construction to add to the 320,000 people we now serve. We are up 200,000 from just eight years ago. In a community that grows like Alliance has grown, we must be nimble and ready to respond to the need. With the services offered in our expanded facilities, we will be able to do just that.”

The expansion at Texas Health Alliance adds three stories to extend the main hospital building’s footprint, opening more than 65,000 square feet of additional space for critical care, medical-surgical, and women and infants services, along with a new surgical suite and support services wing, bringing the hospital’s total patient bed count to 151.

Barclay Berdan, FACHE, CEO of Texas Health, said that “while the pandemic has forced so many individuals and businesses to put plans on hold, we know that the healthcare needs of those we serve can’t wait. We’re proud to have been able to complete this project and expand capacity for COVID-19 patients and people with various other medical needs.”

"When our friends and neighbors who live in the Alliance area need healthcare, they shouldn’t have to leave their community to find the care they need,” Abernathy said. “This expansion gives us the opportunity to expand acute services such as trauma, heart attack and stroke, as well as women’s and children’s services, to give patients the ability to stay in their home community for care.”

The new tower includes a concierge service that introduces patients to their rooms and shows them how to use updated technology, including iPads that allow them to interact with support services, order food, control the temperature of the room and even Skype with loved ones.

“Seeing the hospital grow and expand says a lot about the community,” said Monika Mathur, M.D., chief medical officer at Texas Health Alliance. “It sends a message that we recognize that our community is growing, and we will grow alongside with it to be able to continue to serve and keep folks closer to their support systems and home.”