MHS to begin $9.8 million renovations for Hondo and Castroville facilities

Courtesy image

The Medina Healthcare System Board of Directors Monday night approved a $4.275 million bid to add a rehabilitation wing to Medina Regional Hospital in Hondo. The new wing, depicted in this arhitect’s image, will triple the amount of space dedicated to therapy.

Courtesy image

W. R. Griggs Construction of Castroville won the $5.6 million bid to construct a two-story, 9,000 square-foot addition to the Castroville Regional Health Clinic, depicted here. NC Construction, also of Castroville, won the bid for $4.275 million to build a major addition to Medina Regional Hospital in Hondo. See the story on page 1A of The Hondo Anvil Herald.

By Rosanne Fohn

Anvil Herald Reporter

Medina Healthcare System is investing a total of $9.8 million into two major renovation projects in Hondo and Castroville. 

The first project will add 9,500 square feet to rehabilitation services at Medina Regional Hospital. This will triple the current space dedicated to occupational, physical and speech therapy.

Chief Financial Officer  Kevin Frosch said that the hospital’s current rehabilitation space is very limited and that the new space will allow for significant growth as it is needed. 

The Facilities Committee considered eight bids before recommending NC Construction Inc. of Castroville. The MHS Board of Directors unanimously ratified the $4.275 million bid at the Monday night board meeting. 

A ground-breaking ceremony for the addition will be held at 8 a.m., March 5, in conjunction with the Hondo Area Chamber of Commerce.

The second project is a 9,000-square-foot, two-story addition to the Castroville Rural Health Clinic. The expansion will provide space to double the number of family practice physicians from five to 10. 

“We have capped out our growth at that clinic and can’t meet the needs for family practice or OB (obstetrics),” said Chief Operating Officer Ashley Lowe, explaining that most of the family practice providers there also deliver babies.

From the 10 construction companies considered, board members unanimously awarded the bid to W.R. Griggs Construction, also of Castroville.

The two projects are expected to start in March and be completed in early 2027. They are being funded by cash reserves and interest on investments, Frosch said, adding, “Over the last 10 to 15 years we have been paying off all the debt we had and can now reinvest in our current buildings.”

Meanwhile, construction will soon be complete on a renovation underway at Specialty Clinic #1 in Hondo for new eye specialists, and a new project is being considered to enlarge the hospital’s lab space and renovate the hospital entrance. That project is in the beginning stages and likely will not be initiated until next year.