Kilgore College opens new Roy H. Laird Health Science Center with CHRISTUS

KILGORE, Texas ( KETK ) – The new Roy H. Laird Health Science Education Center in Kilgore had its grand opening and ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The ceremony was hosted by CHRISTUS Good Shepherd, Kilgore College, the City of Kilgore and the Roy H. Laird Memorial Hospital Foundation and featured tours of the almost 75,0000 square-foot building.

“The partnership and collaboration we have had with both the City of Kilgore and Kilgore College has been incredible,” said Todd Hancock, CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Health System president. “This facility not only allows for incredible education opportunities for future health care providers but increases our capacity to care for our community.”

The Roy H. Laird Health Science Center consists of the new Kilgore College Torrence Health Science Education Center and the CHRISTUS Good Shepard Healthpark-Kilgore hospital.

“I thought about it this morning as I was making my way here, the countless lives that this facility is going to impact in this community,” said Hancock. “Not only the patients that come through our doors, but the students that will be trained to be health care professionals for years to come.”

The Torrence Health Science Education Center is a state-of-the-art teaching and lab space that takes up almost half the space of the facility. It will house associate degree programs in nursing, vocational nursing, physical therapy assistance and radiologic technology for Kilgore College.

“For years, KC has strived to train the next generation of East Texas health care workers,” Dr. Brenda Kays, Kilgore College president said. “With the opening of the Torrence Health Science Education Center, that mission takes a giant leap forward.”

The new CHRISTUS location is a family medicine and outpatient physical therapy location next to the existing CHRISTUS Good Shepard Emergency Center. The hospital has 24 exam rooms, a lab, an x-ray and seven healthcare providers.

Construction of the new Roy H. Laird Health Science Center started back in 2022 on the site of the old Laird Memorial Hospital at 1612 Henderson Blvd.

“I cannot thank everyone enough for their efforts in this,” Hancock said. “We have overcome a lot to get here, but I am so glad we did and now this community has the first-class facility it deserves.”

To learn more about the Torrence Health Science Education Center, visit Kilgore College online .

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