by Joey Gomez
South Texas Health System has announced that it has reached an agreement to
bring Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco into its network of hospitals.
In November, STHS officials said that Knapp will be welcomed among the system
‘s four acute care facilities, Edinburg Regional Medical Center Edinburg Children’s Hospital, McAllen Medical Center and McAllen Heart Hospital. STHS in the Valley is also comprised of one behavioral health center, South Texas Behavioral Health Center, as well as a short-stay surgical hospital, Cornerstone Regional Hospital.
“This partnership is going to have a positive impact on the Rio Grande Valley’s access to comprehensive, quality healthcare,” said Douglas Matney, Regional Vice President of United Health Systems in a statement. “These great facilities coming together to provide comprehensive medical services for the residents of the Valley will exceed expectations by continuing to provide the quality treatment services that have kept us in the forefront of the healthcare industry for more than 30 years.”
STHS’s acquisition of Knapp brings together two highly-complementary organizations to create a premier facilities-based comprehensive healthcare provider for residents of Weslaco and the Valley. UHS, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates 25 acute care hospitals and 202 behavioral healthcare facilities and schools in 36 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
“We are very excited about this wonderful opportunity to pair Knapp Medical Center with one of the best health systems in South Texas,” said John Lackey, chair, Knapp Medical Center Board of Directors. “Knapp already is known in the industry for quality care as an award-winning hospital, and this is going to make us – and the community of Weslaco –even better.”
Knapp Medical Center is a 226-bed acute-care facility that opened in 1961. The hospital offers a wide range of services for residents of the Mid Valley region, and has received several awards, including “Most Wired” and “Most Improved” from the American Hospital Association.
Officials with STHS say Knapp will become part of a highly-acclaimed health system that also includes the region’s only two accredited chest pain centers, three certified stroke centers, a certified asthma center, a bariatric surgery Center of Excellence and the Valley’s first accredited inpatient rehabilitation care facility for adults and children.
STHS has more than 600 physicians on the medical staff representing more than 45 medical specialties. STHS has partnered with the Heart Clinic, Valley Care Clinics, and McAllen Hospitalist Group to bring 14 additional physicians to the Valley between 2009-2011, in areas including family practice/OB, hospitalists, gastroenterology, ENT, cardiology, pediatrics, and pediatric hematology/oncology.
