Texas Health Hospital Denton Expands with Counties It Serves

Just as Denton County’s continued growth requires more regular and specialized health care options, so too has Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton to meet them. It all started in July 2022 with the opening of the new $128 million Center for Women featuring new labor and delivery technology and more. The four-story, 215,000 square-foot facility replaced a smaller and older building of the same name. 

Inside are 12 labor and delivery rooms, 23 postpartum rooms, and 6 antepartum rooms for high-risk mothers. There also are two surgical C-section suites plus a dedicated OB emergency department that aids women with gynecological or obstetrical emergencies. Texas Health Denton annually delivers about 2,000 babies. 

 “We are a faith-based, not-for-profit hospital system,” said Jeff Reecer, president of Texas Health Denton. “Our mission and our values make us different. We are able to focus on the things that are important, including doing what’s right when patients are most vulnerable.”

Texas Health Denton is the city’s only provider of obstetrical and neonatal intensive care and the biggest provider in Denton County.  “Texas Health Denton has expanded because it has anticipated the need of the area now and in the years to come,” said Reecer.  As a non-profit, support for expansion and important community programs is often provided through funds raised by the Texas Health Resources Foundation which supports Texas Health Resources hospitals in 16 counties across North Texas.

To better support growth in Denton and Collin counties, the Foundation’s North Region was created in November 2021 to meet the healthcare needs, both within the walls of the hospitals and out in the community.  “We are fortunate to be able to work with Texas Health Denton, community organizations, and the people of this area to improve the health of the people we serve,” said Sarah Higdon Humphrey, Foundation vice president supporting the North Region. “We have seen remarkable generosity and support from the people in this region.”

For example, in December, Texas Health Denton opened the Beth & Bill Patterson Family Simulation Laboratory made possible with the help of Beth and Bill Patterson, the latter of whom is president/publisher of Denton Media Company/Denton Record-Chronicle.  “We were so fortunate that Beth and Bill Patterson saw the vision behind this training facility, which will benefit hospital staff and emergency personnel across the area,” Reecer said.

The Simulation Lab is a training facility for doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, and other medical professionals and is one of only two in the Texas Health system. It features five life-like, artificial intelligence-based mannequins that can be programmed to mimic a variety of possible scenarios. The adults – known as Gary and Victoria – can talk and interact with the caregivers. They can be intubated, go into cardiac arrest, have a seizure, and experience a number of other health emergencies. Victoria also is ready to give birth and can do so normally, breech, or by emergency C-section. Gary can simulate strokes, heart attacks, and other emergencies. Debriefings during and after the simulations are critically important to the learning process. 

While The Center for Women focuses on new mothers and their families, its services are not limited to that audience. There also are new centers for breast health, physical/occupational/speech therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, and education. With 10 new emergency department beds, for 40 total, four new trauma rooms, and a new roof-top helipad, access to emergency care is easier than ever.  “It’s gratifying to be part of an organization that really is focused on serving the mission,” Reecer said. “We’re the largest not-for-profit in Denton County, and most people have no idea we’re a non-profit hospital at all.”