Our History

Over 40 Years of Innovation and Transformation

In the early 1980s, residents of Hunt County decided the best way to provide hospital services to their growing area was to form a public hospital district, much in the same way a fire district or a school district provides services.

Voters approved Hunt Memorial Hospital District in 1981. Voter money was instrumental in expanding the original Citizens General Hospital, which opened in 1971.

Today, tax-payer money is used to provide much-needed community health services. Although there isn’t profit in providing health classes for seniors or in helping the communities underinsured connect with preventive and emergency care, because Hunt County is part of the community, we have a responsibility to provide these services regardless of their profitability.

The District is governed by nine publicly elected board members, whose duty is to set policies and establish goals for Hunt Regional Healthcare facilities throughout the region.

Today, Hunt Memorial Hospital District is known to its patients, employees, and community supporters as Hunt Regional Healthcare and has grown to offer a wide array of services using state-of-the-art technology at multiple locations throughout Northeast Texas, including facilities in Commerce, Emory, Rockwall, Royse City, and Quinlan.

To truly understand what Hunt Regional is today, you must first understand what Hunt Regional once was. Let’s take a look back at the history of our innovative health system.

• 1967 – The Greenville Hospital Authority is approved by voters for the purpose of constructing a modern new hospital in the city.
• 1971 – Citizens General Hospital, a four-floor, 96-bed facility, officially opens. It was built on 11 acres in west-central Greenville.
• 1981 – Hunt County voters opt to expand the district county-wide to better serve the health needs of residents in the area. The new district renamed Hunt Memorial Hospital District, came under the management of an elected nine-member board from the four-county precincts and one at-large representative.
• 1983 - Hunt County citizens approved a $12 million hospital expansion program that included the purchase of a 30-bed hospital in Commerce. Also in 1983, four floors are added to Citizens General in Greenville, increasing its square footage by 59,000 square feet.
• 1993 - Citizens General Hospital becomes affiliated with Presbyterian Healthcare System. The hospitals’ names are changed to Presbyterian Hospital of Greenville and Presbyterian Hospital of Commerce.
• 1997 – Hunt Memorial Hospital District continues to grow. A surgery center and medical pavilion are added, and the emergency department and medical office building are expanded. In addition, the Truett and Margaret Crim Maternity Department is established.
• 1998 - Hunt Memorial Hospital District opens the Presbyterian Medical Plaza in Quinlan. The 10,000-square-foot facility includes physician office space, a laboratory, and areas for diagnostic imaging and physical therapy.
• 2005 – Voters approve a $24 million bond package to construct a “west wing” at Presbyterian Hospital of Greenville that would house a comprehensive cancer treatment center and expanded intensive care unit.
• 2007 – The west wing celebrates its grand opening with more than 1,000 people in attendance. Linda Armstrong Kelly, the mother of 7-time tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, delivers a moving speech about the importance of cancer research and treatment.
• 2008 – Along with an official name change to Hunt Regional Healthcare and Hunt Regional Medical Center (Greenville location), an affiliate of Baylor Healthcare System, the health system now includes a transitional care unit, a cardiac rehabilitation center, a wound care center, a health and fitness center, a sleep disorder clinic, a home health agency, a county-wide ambulance service, and an outpatient behavioral health program for older adults.
• 2013 – The Tubby Adkisson Mobile Mammography Coach begins providing mammograms on the go for Hunt County and surrounding areas
• 2013 - Hunt Regional Healthcare and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce celebrate the ribbon cutting of Hunt Regional Healthcare Outpatient Infusion Center
• 2014 – Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for Hunt Regional Emergency Medical Center at Commerce and Hunt Regional Emergency Medical Center at Quinlan as Hunt Regional expands emergency care throughout all parts of Hunt county
• 2015 –The Tenth Annual Laughter is the Best Medicine Comedy Gala is hosted by the Hunt Regional Healthcare Foundation with Rabbi Bob Alper as the headlining entertainer
• 2015 – Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville celebrates the ribbon cutting for its newly renovated third floor as part of a voter-approved bond package.
• 2015 – Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville is listed by Consumer Reports as one of only 37 hospitals in the country to receive their highest rating in preventing surgical-site infections, central-line infections, and infections stemming from urinary catheters.

No matter how much Hunt Regional Medical Center has transformed over the years, it still holds true to its ultimate mission: to continually improve the health of the people in the communities it serves by providing quality, cost-effective, and service-oriented care.