HISTORY UNFOLDS: Baylor Irving Celebrates 50 Years

Fifty Years Ago Irving Community Formally Dedicated $3 Million Hospital

From 1950 to 1960, Irving was the fastest-growing city in Texas and the 10th fastest growing city in the United States. Yet, the city had no hospital nor was there a hospital anywhere in the 30-mile stretch between Dallas and Fort Worth. The 23 physicians with medical practices in Irving had to drive 35 minutes into Dallas to see their hospitalized patients.

"We were thinking of the future," recalls Irving businessman Clint Howard who was actively involved in the effort to bring a community hospital to Irving. Howard was among the 11 Irving residents appointed by the Irving City Council to study the need for a hospital in Irving.

[See: HISTORICAL TIMELINE]

In 1962, the hospital broke ground on 10 acres donated by the Ben Carpenter and Dan Williams families two years earlier. In November 1964, the hospital – Irving Community Hospital – opened. Howard still has the telegram he received from then Texas Gov. John Connally congratulating the community.

In the years between the hospital planning and opening, the community embraced fundraising for the hospital. In those pre-social media days, the community raised funds through bake sales, corporate fundraising and door-to-door visits, along with the sale of revenue bonds by the Irving Hospital Authority. "The involvement of the entire community was the key to our success," recalled Howard, who served as the first president of the Irving Hospital Authority, created by the City of Irving in 1959.

Architects and physicians worked together planning the hospital. "The doctors were part of the hospital from the beginning," says Howard. "The idea was to have a hospital that had everything a doctor needed." The Irving medical community formed the Doctor's Club and sent a representative from each medical specialty to consult with architects. 

[Watch: VIDEO - Baylor Medical Center at Irving Celebrates 50 Years]

Throughout the years, community care has been central to the hospital. Cindy Schamp, president of Baylor Medical Center at Irving, says, "Our passion about caring for the community is alive and well in Baylor Irving each and every day."

As the community grew, so did the hospital. In the 1980s, cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons were recruited to take care of people with heart diseases and conditions. The hospital became part of Baylor Health Care System in 1995. And more than 20 years ago, the hospital launched its comprehensive cancer program, now known as the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Irving, to meet the needs of cancer patients in the community. Most recently, the emergency department (ED) is undergoing an extensive expansion to help care for the 70,000 patients seeking emergency treatment this year with the capacity to care for a projected 100,000 visits to the Baylor Irving ED by 2025.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Susan Hall
susanh@baylorhealth.edu
office:  (214) 820-1817

About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com