South Limestone Hospital: From Concept to Reality

The South Limestone Hospital held its first open house on Sunday, July 15, 1973. This event marked the end of five years of effort, though the project was first mentioned in the Journal on April 17, 1969.
With the establishment of the Medicare program in the 1960s, the requirements for hospitals to qualify for the program became stricter. Dr. Cox’s Hospital had served the area for forty years, but in 1968, Dr. Stanley Cox realized he could not meet the new standards despite significant investments in improvements. Consequently, the City Council of Groesbeck created the Groesbeck Hospital Authority by ordinance on May 16, 1968. Eleven individuals were appointed to the board: L. L. Geren, Mrs. H. L. Seamans, Norman R. Jones, Ern Lockhart, Dr. Stanley Cox, E. R. Kilgore, J. F. Jackson, Judge Clarence Ferguson, B. L. Bradley, W. E. Corbitt, and Clyde Robinson. The area included the corporate limits of Groesbeck. The Texas Constitution allows a City Council to appoint such an authority.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was contacted for a loan to build a new general hospital. However, HUD officials said Groesbeck's area and population were too small to qualify. As a result, plans were made to create a South Limestone Hospital District with boundaries similar to the Groesbeck Independent School District for constructing a general hospital. A special bill had to be passed by the State Legislature to authorize an election to let residents vote on creating the hospital district. The bill also stipulated that the district would have taxing authority, which was crucial for obtaining the HUD loan of $600,000.
State Representative Jack R. Hawkins of Groesbeck introduced the special bill in the Texas House of Representatives, and State Senator Murray Watson of Mart introduced it in the Texas Senate. After the bill passed the 61st Legislature, a temporary board of directors of fifteen was organized. The election to determine if the district should be created was held on June 20, 1970. Both propositions passed by large majorities in one of the area’s largest turnouts.
The next step was securing the $600,000 HUD loan. Despite efforts to reduce such loans, HUD approved the loan on May 11, 1971. Congressman W. R. Poage and Senators John Tower, Lloyd Bentsen, and Ralph Yarborough helped secure the loan. To meet HUD requirements and pay for the land, the South Limestone Hospital had to raise $22,000. HUD required the district to have $15,000 in cash assets in addition to owning the land. A financial drive in the summer of 1971 raised $30,000. The district also received a grant from the Moody Foundation of Galveston in 1971.
The land for the hospital, a 7.40-acre tract on the north side of Groesbeck, was purchased from W. W. Lincoln of Shreveport, Louisiana, for $5,500. While these proceedings were underway, Architect George C. Christensen of Dallas had been developing plans for the new hospital since 1968. He was on a contingency fee basis with the old Groesbeck Hospital Authority. Christensen’s plans met all Medicare requirements.
When the plans were complete, the Board of Directors accepted bids in early 1972. On April 5, 1972, W. H. Spruill Construction Company of Crockett was awarded the contract with a bid of $474,000. W. H. Spruill personally supervised the construction, and according to the Directors and Administrator, the work was excellent.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 29, 1972. After five years of planning, the hospital opened on June 1, 1973. It wasn’t until June 18, 1991, that the hospital board considered changing the name to reflect the variety of services offered by the facility. The motion was approved and the name was changed to Limestone Medical Center effective July 1, 1991, which is how we know it today.