The Belknap lobby of Texas Health Harris Hospital in Stephenville was filled with smiling faces and excited voices Wednesday, July 29 as the community gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the business which has been pivotal in the lives and stories of Erath families.
Photo collages featured many of those who have helped save and better the lives of residents of Erath County and the surrounding area throughout the years. Those in attendance were treated to free hot dogs, ice cream, cupcakes, a photo booth and more while checking out the Wellness for Life Mobile Health Unit, getting free blood pressure readings and pedaling to power a light bar in honor of the activity’s health benefits.
Stephenville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director July Danley introduced special speakers starting with hospital president Claudia Eisenmann.
Eisenmann said she was honored to represent the countless staff and colleagues working at the hospital which has benefitted from “generations of individuals spend[ing] their best life’s work... serving other folks in the community.”
She added she is grateful for the prosperity the hospital has had and they will continue to look for ways to better serve the neighbors who put their trust in them.
“Thank you so much from me to you,” she said regarding the community’s support.
Larry Smith from the Erath County Historical Commission was present to read a letter of recognition from Governor Greg Abbott who commended the hospital for the exceptional care and expanding services and technologies for the benefit of Erath and the surrounding area.
“I hope you take pride in the many accomplishments...,” Gov. Abbott wrote to those present for the celebration of the “remarkable Texas success story.”
“First Lady Cecilia Abbott joins me in extending best wishes for your continued success,” he wrote.
Smith was followed by Barbara Terrell, wife of the late Dr. Jim Terrell who told of meeting her husband and seeing the work his family put in to improve the hospital over the years.
According to a resolution passed by the Erath County Commissioners Court June 27 in recognition of Texas Health Harris Stephenville, the first hospital and clinic was built in 1926 as an 11 room facility on the current Belknap site. This followed the establishment of a medical practice by Dr. J.C. Terrell and wife Ellen Willard Terrell (a registered nurse) in the second floor of the downtown Langford Hotel.
The first wing was built in 1927 with the second the following year. in 1935, Dr. Vance Terrell (along with wife Violet Anderson Terrell, another RN) joined his brother at the hospital.
The business was renamed the Stephenville Hospital and Clinic in 1945. In 1965, Dr. Jim Terrell, son of J.C. joined and Dr. Frank Terrell, son of Vance practiced general medicine from 1967-70 and came back in 1973 following an ophthalmology residency at UT Southwestern Dallas.
The hospital joined the Harris Methodist Health System in 1982 and was rebranded in 1997 when Harris Methodist, Presbyterian Hospitals and Arlington Memorial Hospital merged to form Texas Health Resources. The Erath County resolution also highlighted the many noteworthy expansions that have been made at the hospital as well as the efforts of other trailblazers like Carl Phillips, Wilma Reed, Dora Lee Willard, Dr. Nathan Cedars and Dr. James Maniotis for what they added to its legacy.
With members of the Terrell family living around the hospital, Terrell said she had many memories of the immediate area.
Danley praised the “Terrell family’s vision, entrepreneurship, and risk taking to make health care possible here. We are so blessed for all the ones who play a part in making it special.”
“I join the hospital in celebrating 100 years and look forward to the next 100 years,” she added.
For more information about the hospital, visit texashealth. org.