A Common History of Serving Our Communities:
Valley Baptist Harlingen and Valley Baptist Brownsville

Valley Baptist-Harlingen and Valley Baptist-Brownsville both had humble beginnings in the early days of the 20th Century. Both hospitals can trace their roots back to dedicated doctors and visionary citizens in their communities -- and to Christian organizations seeking to serve God by serving their fellow human beings.

In Brownsville, in the year 1913 Miss Nora Kelly opened the Charity Home on Madison Street to serve the homeless. Two years later the Mexican Revolution brought about the need for a place that could provide medical care. People were fleeing north across the border, some needing treatment from wartime injuries while others were suffering from diseases such as yellow fever and diphtheria. Ms. Kelly received a donation of $14,000 from the Stillman Family – one of the founding families of Brownsville -- to address this problem. In 1917 Divine Providence Hospital opened with the Sisters of Mercy at the helm. This facility quickly proved to be too small for a growing Brownsville. Thanks to the donation of a land site by James Stillman -- and to the generosity of other Brownsville residents -- Mercy Hospital opened in July of 1923 at E. Jefferson and Central Boulevard.

Meanwhile, 25 miles north in Harlingen, the year 1923 was also an important date for the founding of a hospital, as that is the year that a group of dedicated citizens saw the need for a modern medical facility in Harlingen. These residents -- including Dr. N. A. Davidson, Dr. G. W. Letzerick, S. G. Stringer, and Judge Fred Bennett -- set out to build on a foundation that had been laid by Harlingen’s original 10-bed hospital which was located on "F" Street, between Harrison and Tyler streets, in a converted frame house owned by Mrs. Ida Gilbert. Harlingen’s new 36-bed hospital was also built on "F" Street, a few blocks away from the original 10-bed facility. Valley Baptist Hospital, owned by the Lower Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association, opened as a not for profit community hospital on January 22, 1925.

Both the hospitals in Brownsville and Harlingen experienced rapid growth. In Brownsville, the hospital treated 390 patients in 1923; 1,083 patients in 1943; 4,361 in 1953; and 20,000-plus patients in 1983. In Harlingen, the bed count at Valley Baptist increased from 36 beds in 1925 to 82 beds in 1943 and more than 400 beds by the 1980’s. Both hospitals have been major contributors to the local economy, with Valley Baptist-Harlingen now employing more than 2,200 people and Valley Baptist-Brownsville employing about 800 local residents.

Over the years, both hospitals eventually experienced changes in ownership. In Harlingen, the Baptist General Convention of Texas acquired the hospital in 1945. In Brownsville, the hospital was known as Mercy Hospital or “La Merced” for 50 years until 1973, when it came under corporate ownership and became Brownsville Medical Center. In 2004, the Brownsville hospital was purchased by Valley Baptist Health System and its name changed to Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville.

Along with the growth and changes came extensive building projects at both the hospitals in Harlingen and Brownsville. In Harlingen, Valley Baptist moved to its present location, on Pease Street off Ed Carey Drive in Harlingen, in 1956. A six-story South Tower was built at Valley-Baptist Harlingen in the 1980’s, followed by the four-story East Tower in 1998 and a six-story Medical Arts Pavilion in 2001. The East Tower features the Valley’s first Children’s Center for pediatric patients, a “Mother-Baby” obstetrical unit which emphasizes family-centered maternity care; a 32-bed gynecology unit; a 38-bed Newborn Intensive Care Unit; convenient areas for outpatient services; a 30-bed Day Surgery Center; operating rooms, a roof-top heliport, and a 32-room state-of-the-art Emergency Department.

In Brownsville, a new wing and major renovations were added in 1952, resulting in an emergency room, pediatric and psychiatric units, a new laboratory and an operating room – along with air conditioning. In 1963, the Brownsville hospital added 52 more beds, a labor and delivery area, surgical suites and a radiology department. In 1983, part of the original 1923 building in Brownsville was demolished and replaced with the current three-story patient tower. In 1999, the third floor of the Women’s Center and Emergency Department three-story tower opened in Brownsville. The addition included ten Labor/Delivery/Recovery Suites, four Women’s Surgery Suites, observation areas, and an expanded 34-bed neonatal intensive care nursery. Then in 2003 and 2004, the Brownsville hospital expanded its Radiology Department, which featured a new CT Scanner, Angiography Suite, ultrasound systems and nuclear medicine camera. Also in the last decade, the Edelstein Professional Building opened on the Brownsville campus, housing additional physician offices and a pharmacy. And in 2005, Valley Baptist-Brownsville added a new state-of-the-art Cath Lab, a new mental health program for senior adults, as well as improvements in the main lobby, outpatient registration, and more. This investment in the hospital will continue into the future, with plans for more renovation and investment in state-of-the-art technology.

Both hospitals were responsive in meeting the unique needs of their communities. Cognizant of the great need for trauma care in the Valley, both Valley Baptist-Harlingen and Valley-Baptist Brownsville are Level III Trauma Centers. Both VBMC-Harlingen and VBMC-Brownsville offer Cameron County’s only accredited diabetes education centers, helping to meet a critical need especially among the Valley’s Hispanic population. And both hospitals are known for offering health screenings, health fairs, support groups and health education at no cost to the community.

Looking to the future together, Valley Baptist-Harlingen and Valley Baptist-Brownsville remain committed to continuing a “Tradition of Excellence” and serving our communities with the latest advances in medicine and state-of-the-art high-tech equipment, capably handled through the caring, human touch of our dedicated doctors, nurses, and staff.