Val Verde Regional Medical Center renovates Del Rio office into therapy center

Val Verde Regional Medical Center is turning a newly acquired office building at 901 N. Bedell Ave. in Del Rio into the Val Verde Sports Medicine Therapy Center, a move aimed at keeping orthopedic care and rehabilitation closer to home for student athletes, injured workers, seniors and children who need repeated visits. The hospital said the clinic will bring physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and pediatric therapy together in one place, with orthopedic sports medicine available onsite through Dr. Jonathan Hoskins.

Hospital leaders said the idea is to move patients more smoothly from diagnosis to treatment to rehabilitation without making them bounce between offices across town or outside Del Rio. CEO Jorge Jurado said the renovation is meant to improve access to care at the right time and in the right place, while reducing travel burdens and improving coordination between providers. Redline Full Restoration LLC is handling the project, and construction was scheduled to begin in May. The hospital said it will release additional updates and a projected opening timeline later.

The new center builds on services VVRMC already lists on its Bedell Avenue campus. The hospital’s locations page shows orthopedic sports medicine and rehabilitation services at 801 N. Bedell Ave., and the rehabilitation department lists occupational therapy, pediatric therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy. VVRMC also says its physical therapy facilities are housed in the new section of the medical center and include a large gym area, treadmills, bikes, a stair stepper, a ski machine, weights, mats, a hydrotherapy room and private treatment rooms.

The expansion matters in a county where local access can make the difference between getting care and going without it. Del Rio had 34,673 residents in the 2020 Census, and Val Verde County had 47,586. The county is 81.6% Hispanic or Latino and has a 19.0% uninsured rate among residents under 65. VVRMC is a 93-bed level IV trauma center, and the next closest tertiary medical center is about 150 miles away.

VVRMC says community health needs assessments and community input guide its strategic planning, a framework that has shaped the hospital since it first opened as Val Verde Memorial Hospital in 1959 with fewer than 30 beds. The hospital underwent major renovations and expansions in 1969, 1985 and 2002, was renamed Val Verde Regional Medical Center in 1996 and marked 60 years of service in May 2019.