EHRMC Hospital closed permanently

HOUSTON –– East Houston RMC has decided to permanently close its facility on I-10 near Uvalde, due to repeated damage from flooding of Greens Bayou.

On November 3, 2017 the following statement was issued by Troy Villarreal, president of HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division:

“HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division is announcing today that East Houston Regional Medical Center, a campus of Bayshore Medical Center, will not reopen due to its history of flooding as well as recent extensive damage from Hurricane Harvey.

The hospital has been closed since all patients and staff were moved to safety two days before Harvey made landfall. Although it is equipped with flood gates designed to withstand three feet of water, East Houston Regional Medical Center took nearly six feet of water during the storm.

The hospital is located in a low lying area, and prior to Harvey, was severely damaged by flood waters in 2001 by Tropical Storm Allison as well as by Hurricane Ike in 2008. We considered potential options to continue to treat patients at the facility; however, given this history and the likelihood of future flooding problems, we determined that the most prudent course is to close the facility. We have a long history of caring for the East Harris County community, and through nearby Bayshore Medical Center and Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, we will continue to do so.

Physicians credentialed at East Houston Regional Medical Center have privileges to practice medicine at Bayshore Medical Center, and we will continue to assist those physicians interested in practicing medicine there and seeing their patients at the facility.

For over 40 years, HCA has been treating patients at East Houston Regional Medical Center. Though the facility has been damaged in the past, we have rebuilt many times. We’ve endured three floods since 2000. Our team looked at every potential option for continuing to treat patients at the facility. In the interest of safety, we have determined there was no way to continue operations at this current site. It’s just not the safest way forward for our patients or our employees. We remain committed to the East Harris County community, though. Patients may still seek care at our Bayshore Medical Center and Clear Lake Regional Medical Center facilities, both of which are close by.

In addition, management and human resources teams are working closely with East Houston Regional Medical Center employees to identify career opportunities in one of the 16 facilities within the HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division and throughout HCA.

HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division will work with a local realty firm to determine the future of the East Houston Regional Medical Center property.

It was a difficult decision not to reopen East Houston Regional Medical Center, but one we are confident best serves our patient population. HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division remains firmly committed to the East Houston community and Bayshore Medical Center’s essential role as a community hospital serving East Houston and surrounding communities.