Welcome to Sabine County Hospital

Together, the hospital and clinic focus on quality, participating actively in quality assurance monitoring and improvement through quality metrics and peer review programs administered by Texas A&M. 

In recognition of quality initiatives Sabine County Hospital was awarded a TMF Gold Award for Hospital Quality Improvement given to only 51 of the 745 hospitals in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas that demonstrated improved performance on specific national quality measures.

Federally designated as a Critical Access Hospital, Sabine County Hospital is licensed for 25 acute care beds, all of which may be used as “swing beds” or skilled nursing beds for Medicare patients who need extra time to heal and strengthen following an acute care stay. As a result, the hospital can care for many inpatients with acute or chronic medical conditions such as heart attacks, congestive heart failure, pneumonia and influenza, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.  

As a Level IV Trauma Center, the Emergency Department at Sabine County Hospital serves as the first responder for injured and ill patients living, working or visiting in the area. The quality of care at the hospital and in the emergency department is enhanced through the use of telemedicine services which bring virtual specialists to assist with diagnosis and treatment plans.

Toledo Bend Family Medicine, a federally designated Rural Health Clinic, is staffed by four dedicated providers.  Together this team cares for patients of all ages in the clinic, emergency department and hospital, and provides the continuity of care that is the hallmark of a community based family practice.  

Other hospital services supporting the Hospital, Emergency Department and Clinic include: MRI, CT scanning, general x-ray and ultrasound; physical therapy, and laboratory testing. 

Sabine County Hospital has Served the Community for 40 Years

Sabine County Hospital’s tradition of delivering high-quality health care services to the community began in May 1980 when the newly built hospital opened.  

Local civic leaders and owner of Hemphill Drug Store, Leon Adickes (who served 15 terms on the Hemphill City Council and 25 years as a volunteer fireman), led the effort to build the hospital and served 4 terms as its president.   Grover Winslow, MD, was also instrumental in establishing the hospital, and J. D. Miller served as its first administrator.

Two years after the hospital opened, the Board of Directors of the Sabine County Hospital District (SCHD) realized that additional space was needed and, using grant funds from the TLL Temple Foundation, added a new wing to the hospital in 1984 to house a larger pharmacy, respiratory therapy department and physical therapy department. When additional funds became available from another TLL Temple Foundation grant in 1986, a second addition was constructed to further enhance imaging services.  

As technology advanced, the medical staff requested an in-house CT scanner. Modifications to the physical therapy department and a few departmental moves resulted in the provision of full-time CT scanning services in 1996.

That same year, the hospital applied for and received a Level IV Trauma Certification making it among the first small rural hospitals in Texas to become dedicated to providing healthcare services at this level. 
In 2004, the hospital changed its licensure from 36 to 25 acute care beds and achieved federal designation as a Critical Access Hospital.  This effort to keep abreast of the changes in the delivery of rural health care services allowed the hospital to maintain state-of-the-art medical care while obtaining better reimbursement levels from Medicare and Medicaid.  

The SCHD Board of Directors anticipated continued regulatory and reimbursement changes on the horizon and did not feel comfortable treading those waters alone.  After a review of their options, the board voted unanimously to enter into a long-term lease agreement with Preferred Hospital Leasing Hemphill Inc. PHLH), to assume operational responsibility and financial risk for the hospital and clinic.  PHLH is an affiliate of Preferred Management Corporation, with a 30-year track record of successful operation of Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Health Clinics.  

Building on this partnership, PHLH continues to invest the resources necessary to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals, develop and enhance services and implement sound financial management practices.