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HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center celebrates 50th anniversary

Recently, HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center celebrated fifty years of service to the community.

May 13, 2025
Joseph Madden, Robert Sabina, Troy Villarreal, and Ashley Cruz. pose with anniversary plaque.
(left to right) Joseph Madden, HCA Consultant, Robert Sabina, HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center, CEO; Troy Villarreal, HCA Gulf Coast Division President, and Ashley Cruz, Government Relations Manager at HCA Healthcare.

Houston, Texas — HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center proudly celebrated 50 years of delivering compassionate, high-quality care. Fifty years ago, the hospital’s founding physicians set out with one mission: to create a cutting-edge medical center that would provide first-class care using the latest in medical technology. Today, our hospital proudly continues to serve residents throughout Greater Houston and beyond.

In 1975 Park Plaza Hospital opened its doors in the heart of Houston’s Museum District. At the time, it was one of the largest physician-owned hospitals in the nation. The late, Dr. Henry Goodwin Glass, a highly respected Houston surgeon, is credited as the founding father of Park Plaza Hospital.  Along with a dedicated group of visionary physicians, he set out with one mission: to create a cutting-edge medical center that would provide first-class care using the latest in medical technology. 

Now known as HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center, our hospital is a 372-bed acute care hospital proudly serving residents throughout the Greater Houston area and beyond. We’ve built a reputation for excellence in cardiovascular care, bariatric surgery, spine, and minimally invasive robot-assisted procedures. Our commitment to innovation and patient-centered care has earned recognition from Healthgrades, U.S. News & World Report, and we are proud to be designated as a Center of Excellence for Bariatric Care.

April 28, 2025, was named as "HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center Day" when Council Member Abbie Kamin with District C proudly recognized the hospital for enriching the community through leadership and service over the last 50 years. This is a testament to the hospital’s commitment and dedication to the City of Houston and beyond. 

“HCA Healthcare co-founder Dr. Thomas Frist Sr. said, “The great hospitals will always put the patient and the patient’s family first, and the really great institutions will provide care with warmth, compassion, and dignity for the individual,” said Robert Sabina, CEO at HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center.  “And true to Dr. Frist’s words, today, HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center celebrates this significant milestone in our hospital’s history because of how we serve our patients and truly because of the warmth and compassion that is ingrained to our history within the Greater Houston community. For 50 years, we positively impacted the health and wellness of this thriving city.”

Photo from hospital groundbreaking ceremony over 50 years ago.
The hospital groundbreaking with: Richard H. Lynch, M.D., Second Vice President; Samuel A. Levy, M.D., Director; Thane T. Sponsel,M.D., First Vice President; Henry Goodwin Glass, M.D., President; Leo B. Womack, C.P.A., Secretary-Treasurer; Louis Spaw – Spaw Glass Construction; Wilson G. Brown, M.D., Director; Cecil Christensen MD

Published:
May 13, 2025
Location:
HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center

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