Now that Altus Lumberton Hospital has its hospital license, it allows them to provide in-patient care and give people a place to receive treatment overnight.
LUMBERTON, Texas — Healthcare took a step forward in Hardin County following the transition of Altus Lumberton Hospital.
The move from emergency care center to hospital took place last month.
It marks the first hospital to serve Hardin County in more than 20 years.
With the transition, the facility now offers in-patient care.
President and CEO of Altus, Kevin Herrington, tells 12News making the change was inevitable.
“We designed it to be a hospital. But we opened it as just a free standing emergency center to get to know the community and know what the wants and needs of the community were going to be,” Herrington said.
The building, located along N LHS in Lumberton, was originally built in 2013 and served only for emergency care.
Now that Altus Lumberton Hospital has a hospital license, it allows them to provide in-patient care and give people a place to receive treatment overnight.
Prior to the change, patients would have to travel to other medical centers (Beaumont, Houston, Lufkin, etc.) for extended care which is one reason the transformation took place according to Herrington.
Those who did go to Lumberton’s emergency center prior to December 2019, also couldn’t utilize Medicare.
“We did this for two reason,” Herrington said. One, so patients didn’t have to travel for in-patient care as well as most importantly, we can accept medicare once we become accredited.”
Herrington says Harvey was the force that helped push for the move.
“After Harvey, we were the only place in that was open in the county and only place for patients to come. We really knew at that point we had a demand,” Herrington said.
Altus Lumberton Hospital is open 24/7 and has four in-patient hospital beds.
While it’s not a big resource for people needing medical help in Hardin County, Herrington says it’s a vital one.
“We understand our role in this community as a small hospital, but we can do more for the community,” Herrington said.
Altus Lumberton Hospital does plan to expand with an empty four-acre lot behind the facility as well as space inside the hospital for new equipment and technology.
From an Altus Lumberton news release:
Built on the belief that every life matters, Altus Emergency Centers has announced that starting December 18th , its headquarters in Lumberton became a hospital. Renaming itself to Altus Lumberton Hospital. Altus Lumberton first opened its doors in December 2013.
Over the course of these six years, the emergency center has become an intricate part of the community by providing much-needed emergency care to residents of the area. Moreover, the center has experienced continued growth, and its leadership felt the next step was to expand the services and become a hospital. The facility will still provide its signature emergency care.
However, they are increasing their services to those traditionally found at hospitals, including in-patient care. Kevin Herrington, president of Altus, stated the main reason the Altus Lumberton location was becoming a hospital was to be able to admit patients who required overnight stay. “The people of Lumberton opened their community to us and allowed us to become part of their families. We wanted to give back to this community who has given so much to us. Providing patients with quality medical care close to home was the right choice” Kevin Herrington
Altus Lumberton saw a problem when their patients needed to drive long distances either south to Beaumont, or north to Lufkin when they required hospitalization.
The lack of facilities which provided the required care close to home not only was an inconvenience to patients, it also represented an added financial burden to their families. “The people of Lumberton deserve better from the healthcare system. The residents of Lumberton are caring and charitable, always ready to lend a helping hand. They should not have to compromise their health needs in any way. Altus Lumberton was in a position to correct a wrong, and we took the opportunity” Dr. Ike, Chief of Staff