KYLE, Texas — Seton Medical Center Hays celebrated a life saving milestone with its 100th heart surgery in the last year.

That's three times as many operations as the year before.

The growth is a direct result of Seton beefing up its cardiac care capabilities in fast-growing Hays County.

"We wanted to do it right from the beginning and not be playing catchup with the patient population," said Dr. Jeffery McNeil.

Part of doing it right included recruiting a heart surgeon and expanding services that patients would otherwise have to go to Austin or San Antonio for.

Their location also lightens the load on EMS transfers.

"Now you can bring them here to the full service hospital know that they can get the complete spectrum of cardiac care and they're not going to have to be stabilized or transferred to another hospital which has its own risks," said Dr. McNeil.

Safer options mean a quicker recovery for folks across central Texas.

Seton Medical Center Hays also serves patients from Bastrop, Caldwell and surrounding counties as well as the New Braunfels community.