The Friendswood Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the arrival of Friendswood Community Hospital, the city’s first hospital.
The festivities included live performances by Clear Lake and Friendswood High School students, a helicopter flower petal drop, and a large spread of food.
The occasion also included a big announcement: a $100,000 teacher fund to benefit educators in both Friendswood ISD and Clear Creek ISD.
Dr. Suchmor Thomas, the hospital’s founder, was joined by family, friends, clients, staff, Chamber members, the Ambassadors Team, Friendswood EMS, and other city authorities to commemorate the occasion.
For generations, Friendswood residents had to go beyond the municipal limits for inpatient medical care. While the city has always had urgent care, pediatric clinics, general care offices, and emergency rooms, it has never had a hospital within its boundaries.
Dr. Thomas, an emergency care physician, is changing that by opening Friendswood Community Hospital, a $25 million microhospital at 3201 FM 528 in a former Walgreens facility. Construction began in late 2023, and operations are projected to resume by late 2024.
“Recent additions like Dr. Thomas’ facilities and the hospital enhance the landscape, promoting potential further development to ensure health care accessibility and quality for all Friendswood residents,” Steven Rhea, Friendswood Deputy City Manager, remarked.
Friendswood Community Hospital will provide a variety of specialty medical services previously linked with the Texas Medical Center in Houston. These include emergency treatment with wait times of less than five minutes, cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, internal medicine, orthopedics, and radiology.
The hospital will be manned by over 25 physicians, 40 registered nurses, and 75 ancillary medical workers, with 12 ER beds, three critical care beds, and five inpatient beds.
Aside from health care access, the hospital is expected to play an important role in the community’s development. Dr. Thomas stated that the initiative will create more than 100 employment in Friendswood, allowing more residents to live and work locally.
In addition, the facility is expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual property tax revenue, though specific estimates have yet to be determined.
The hospital will be placed within a 10-minute drive of approximately 90,000 people, a figure that is predicted to increase by 2.8% over the following five years.
Dr. Thomas expressed his hope that the hospital will not only increase access to medical treatment, but also promote the city’s character as a location where citizens can both live and stay well.
Friendswood Community Hospital now welcomes tours. For additional information, call 281-767-4357 or go to www.friendswoodhospital.com.
