CELINA, Texas — A new hospital is coming to Collin County to respond to the booming population.

“Having a hospital in the city is going to be instrumental in the way we operate daily,” said Celina Fire Division Chief Justin Beamis.

Beamis has been serving as a firefighter for more than 11 years. He says there’s a growing concern when it comes to emergency medical calls.

“It takes about 15 minutes just from downtown to get to Baylor McKinney or Medical City Frisco. And that's on a that's on a great day with no traffic or no obstructions,” he said.

According to Beamis, Celina’s population has more than doubled within the last three years, increasing the need for hospital transports. But that’s all going to change once Methodist Celina Medical Center, the city’s first hospital, opens in early 2025.

“We're going to have it staffed with board-certified emergency medicine physicians, which are able, capable and trained to take care of all the spectrum of emergencies,” said Cody Hunter, Celina Methodist president.

Beamis believes the hospital will significantly reduce transport times and the turnaround time it takes rescue crews to return to the fire station. Right now, he says first responders spend a large portion of their time commuting to the nearest hospital.

“We were stuck on a CPR where it was 45 minutes of chest compressions from the patient's house all the way to Baylor McKinney at the time… Which translates to almost an hour and a half to two hours of an ambulance being down, because you got to factor in the times it was dispatch, the on-scene times, the transport times and the turnaround times and then getting back to the city,” he said. 

As Celina’s population continues to grow, it has become the fastest growing city not only in Texas but in the nation, according to newly released U.S. Census data.

This is one reason why Hunter worked with city leaders to build this four-story, $273 million hospital.

“We're not going to open with an initial trauma level designation. But, you know, our vision is that. Sometime in 2025, probably somewhere in the fall,” Hunter said.

The hospital will be located at the corner of Dallas Parkway, the future Dallas North tollway and FM 428.

Officials plan to employ more than 200 people at the hospital, which will house 50 beds and three operating rooms.

“We're also going to be listening to the EMS community and listening to the patient community on what are those other things that we need to pursue. But, from day one, we're planning to be able to open with our cardiac services, orthopedic services, general surgery services, and obviously the core ER services to be able to care for just about everything that walks through the door,” Hunter said.