Ryan Miller, president of ambulatory services for Christus St. Mary Hospital, said their new Outpatient Clinic being built at the intersection of FM 365 and Ninth Avenue in Port Arthur is being built to bring care where the people want it.

“We’re very excited,” he said. “Healthcare is changing and patients can access care from multiple places. We’ll keep providing great services closer to the community.”

Miller is involved on several campuses for Christus, but he’s primarily at St. Mary’s where he oversees the Outpatient Clinic and the Bone and Joint Clinic. He has been in that position since March and with Christus for two years.

He explained with outpatient, patients do not have to go to the hospital for a long time to be treated. For example, cat scans and MRIs can be done the same day or the patient stay overnight for a night or two to do them.

The new Outpatient Clinic will have an Emergency Room that’s opened 24 hours a day, seven days a week; a women’s health center; an imaging center; sports medicine and concussion center; a vision center; physical therapy; occupational therapy and bariatric and wound care.

“It will be a one-stop center,” he said.

St. Mary’s is also expanding and adding to the former grocery store and furniture store. When completed, the clinic will be 36,000 square feet.

Construction started in June and scheduled to be completed by spring 2017.

Christus will also be moving their current Outpatient Clinic services at Ninth Avenue and Highway 73 in Port Arthur down the road.

Those services being transferred to the new facility include:

• Physical & Occupational Therapy
• Speech and Language Pathology (this service is located at the hospital)
• Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Functional mobility training
• Activities of daily living training
• Cognitive and communication training
• Progressive exercise
• Post-surgical therapy including hand, back and neck injury management
• Sports injury prevention
• Work injury prevention
• Laboratory services
• Diabetes education
• Outpatient rehabilitation services

“We have some people who are interested in the space (at Ninth Avenue and Highway 73). It will still be an asset to the community,” Miller said.

St. Mary’s, additionally, scored in the top 10 percent for patient satisfaction in the nation for the hospital and that is impressive to Miller.

“We want to bring that to the new facility,” he said.

Miller wanted to stress, however, St. Mary’s Hospital is alive and well. They now offer short-stays as a medical hospital.

“We’re still doing surgeries there; radiology there. We’re not replacing St. Mary’s Hospital. The hospital is not closing,” he said.

Daniels Construction is the contractor and the schedule is on track.

“They do very good work. They’ve done work for us in the past. This is an opportunity to have a faith-based clinic closer to where the people are and bring the healing ministry of Jesus Christ,” he said.

David Ball: 409-721-2427