COLLABORATION | with caregivers and patients to create healthier lives
hospital,” says Mr. Kemper. The 7,000
Marble Falls residents already utilize
the specialty clinic. When the hospital
opens, the campus will serve a larger
regional population of 90,000.
The state-of-the-art medical
campus is designed to meet the needs of
current residents and to accommodate
future growth, says Christian Fletcher,
executive director of the Marble Falls
Economic Development Corporation.
“Healthcare is one of the main factors
people consider when deciding whether
to relocate to an area. We’ve been
attractive to retirees for some time, but
people sometimes have had to go to
Austin or Temple for hospitalization,
or a specialty clinic. With the Baylor
Scott & White Medical Center Marble Falls, those residents will be
able to stay and enjoy their sunset
years here.”
He echoes Mr. Kemper’s praise of
the enormous amount of cooperation
and persistence across the community.
“To work on something of this
magnitude, we had to be pretty creative
in terms of finding resources,” says Mr.
Fletcher. “I appreciate the willingness
everyone has had to think outside the
box and collaborate.”
A shared goal
The people of Marble Falls, the city
council, and other local leaders get
the lion’s share of credit for bringing
the hospital here, says Bob Shafer, a
member of the Baylor Scott & White
Capital Campaign Steering Committee
and chairman of the board. The effort
began in earnest in 2000, when the
26
THE CATALYST May 15 | sw.org
Seated left to right: Member of the Baylor Scott & White Capital Campaign
Steering Committee and Chairman of the Board Bob Shafer, Christian Fletcher,
Marble Falls Mayor George Russell, John Kemper (standing), and President of
the Baylor Scott & White Hill Country Region Eric Looper.
Marble Falls City Council created a
health facilities development corporation.
The city annexed the property for the
medical center in 2008 and the following
year began to make water, sewer,
and utility improvements there. The
Economic Development Corporation
also committed a $2.5 million grant in
2013 for job creation. All told, Marble
Falls and the Economic Development
Corporation have contributed more
than $12.5 million toward the project,
and that has helped create excitement in
the community.
“If everyone hadn’t done what they
said they were going to do, it wouldn’t
have happened,” Mr. Kemper says.
“There was a lot of faith involved. Along
the way, the national healthcare picture
had changed. We had a big financial
crisis in 2008, just as this kicked off.
But Baylor Scott & White and Marble
Falls made the commitment to getting
this done. There are few communities
in the country that have the kind of
hospital that we’ll have here.”
Yet more challenges needed to be
met. Mayor Russell says, “We did have
naysayers. We had to sell bonds, which
added a bit to property taxes. But we
looked at it as an investment, and we’re
already seeing commercial growth and
new home development related to the
medical center. We definitely expect to
recoup that investment down the road.
In fact, the Marble Falls bond rating
actually was raised during this time.
The recession in 2008 and a flood in
2007 didn’t stop us.”
Of course, philanthropy has played
a vital role as well, as many people
have made generous contributions
to the medical campus. The capital
campaign for the medical center has