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A view of a hospital light from an archival photograph Monday, April 7, 2025, donated in 1947 at the original Valley Baptist Hospital located on F Street by the Garling family of Harlingen. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)In honor of Valley Baptist Medical Center reaching its 100th anniversary, the hospital is working on a centennial celebration that will not only put its history on display but the city of Harlingen’s past as well.
The hospital system opened its Harlingen facility, formally known as Valley Baptist Hospital, in 1925 with only 35 beds.
It was previously located on “F” Street and operated on that street until 1956, when it moved to its current location on Pease Street.
When it opened its doors to its newest location the facility had about 135 beds; now, as the Harlingen hospital reaches its 100th anniversary, it houses 586 beds. This emphasizes the pivotal role the hospital has had in the area.
Teri Retana, a former employee at Valley Baptist who is spearheading the project, is working on building a wall of history meant to help depict the impact the facility has had on the area.
“… It has served this community for 100 years and gone through all the changes that Harlingen has through the early days going through depression, and hurricanes and (the) polio epidemic and the wonderful medical advancements also,” Retana said Monday. “So, it really has a very important footprint in the town and its growth for 100 years.”
This project will be an addition to the wall that was created back in 2010 for the 85th anniversary of the hospital.
The addition will not only include more memorabilia of the hospital but also integrate the history of the city, taking the wall back to 1910 when Harlingen was officially founded by Lon C. Hill.
Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, shown Monday, April 7, 2025, prepares to celebrate their 100th anniversary in Harlingen. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)The team has already begun collecting items and memorabilia for the wall, such as a nurse uniform from years ago.
“I truly get inspired of all the work and care that have been going on for a century within this hospital,” said Alissa Castaneda, marketing manager for Valley Baptist Health System.
“I work with our patients, our directors, our admin team and to hear about ‘oh my mom used to be a nurse here’ or ‘my dad was a nurse here, worked in the rehab unit.’ So really generations of care throughout the hospital — that’s what makes me so happy and telling those stories.”
They are asking the community for help with collecting memorabilia such as photos, newspaper articles, postcards, flyers or even birth certificates and any other mementos that help tell the history.
Not only will artifacts help but anyone with stories of the history of the hospital or the city are asked to contact the marketing department.
Anyone with items or photos they would like to share with the hospital can email them marketing@valleybaptist.net. The items can be lent to the hospital or gifted.
“Anything that the community can do to help us tell the story of Valley Baptist,” Castaneda said.
The centennial project will be displayed at the Valley Baptist Medical Center front lobby, which is currently scheduled to open in the fall of 2025 around September.
The post From 35 to 586 beds, Valley Baptist has grown with Harlingen over 100 years appeared first on MyRGV.com.
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