The city of Pearland welcomed the Pearland Medical Center as its first-ever hospital during a Jan. 9 ribbon cutting ceremony.



An affiliate of Hospital Corporation of America, the Pearland Medical Center is slated to open to the public Jan. 21. Healthcare services offered at the 144,000 square-foot, $71 million facility will include surgery, laboratory services, diagnostic imaging, labor and delivery and cardiac catheterization.



"To be the first hospital in the community is something special," said Kevin Fuller, chairman of Pearland Medical Center's board of trustees.



The facility houses 33 beds, including medical and surgical beds, intensive care beds, labor and delivery and postpartum recovery suites, cesarean-section operating rooms, surgical suites and a general nursery. Pearland Medical Hospital is the first of two planned hospitals in Pearland. The second is a 64-bed Memorial Hermann hospital slated to open December 2015.



Approximately 250 full-time members staff Pearland Medical Center, including 150 physicians. Matt Dixon, Pearland Medical Center CEO, said the hospital is an anchor for a developing medical community in Pearland. As the Pearland Medical Center grows in the future, more physicians and medical specialists are projected to come to Pearland and settle around the hospital, he said.



"The multiplier effect begins to accelerate as we have other providers locate around us, near us or here directly in the facility," Dixon said. "A lot of physicians want to have patients, and a lot of it is starting that whole medical community. They really look for that hospital to step out and lead the way because they know we have invested the time and effort to train our staff and put our hospital here."



Before the completion of the Pearland Medical Center, the nearest hospital was in the Texas Medical Center, nearly 20 miles away. Dixon said the Pearland Medical Center provides a quicker transit time for patients to receive treatment.



The hospital's service also extends to residents in the surrounding areas, including the city of Manvel. Manvel Mayor Delores Martin echoed Dixon, saying the location provides a closer access for residents.



Pearland Mayor Tom Reid said the hospital not only ushers in development for the city's medical community, but also sends a message of what the city aspires to accomplish.



"We are reaching out and sending a message that Pearland is very special," Reid said. "I think this particular facility demonstrates, and is a good illustration of, what a quality city should be."