Where Innovation Meets Care
Patients at Its Core and an Innovative Healthcare Path Ahead
At Ward Memorial Hospital, quality healthcare is defined by a commitment to continuous innovation and expanding access for the community of Monahans and Ward County, Texas. As a 25 bed critical access hospital, the facility continues to evolve, growing to meet the needs of the patients it serves.
“I’ve been the CEO here almost 12 years, and when I came, we had one MD and one nurse practitioner,” describes CEO Letitia Rodriguez. “Over the years, we identified quickly that we needed to expand access, and in doing so, we needed to recruit more practitioners. We are now sitting at 13 combined nurse practitioners and MDs.”
Over the years, the hospital has expanded its clinical capabilities through targeted recruitment. Today, patients have access to a general surgeon, respiratory therapy services including cardiac pulmonary rehabilitation, a rheumatologist, and a rotating group of four cardiologists, along with specialty services such as podiatry, audiology, and optometry.
“Expanding mental health care is something that is very prevalent in rural areas,” Rodriguez adds. “This year, we recruited a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, as well as a full time mental health social worker.”
Patient Focused Facilities
These expanded services have highlighted the infrastructure limitations of a hospital that was built in 1980, and investments are being made to bring the building up to modern standards. “In 2022 we created a big master plan, and in 2023 we finally broke ground,” Rodriguez recounts.
“It took obtaining a grant for $3 million from the FMH Foundation. We also received a grant from the USDA for a million dollars. And the remaining of the dollars for that project came from the county. They are in the final phase of this project and hope to be completed by May of next year.”
One area of focus is ensuring that the facility meets ABA requirements. Shayla Davis, Med/ Surg Manager and Infection Control Manager expands, “Before, we had patients that were sharing restrooms, and some of those restrooms were so small you couldn’t get in there with walkers or a wheelchair.” The renovation was designed to create an easier patient experience, with larger rooms and individual bathrooms that are large enough to accommodate mobility equipment.
Safety is also key, and Rodriguez points out that the redesign was influenced by lessons learned during COVID. “We were not prepared for a pandemic,” she acknowledges. “Now 13 rooms of our renovation will include isolation rooms. So if we face any type of situation where we would need to isolate those patients, we can accommodate that a lot more efficiently. It is better suited for those patients and our staff to be safe.” These spaces will feature expanded isolation zones with room for equipment, as well as secondary monitoring areas for staff. The renovation is also addressing climate control issues. “Each room has its own mini split unit so they can control that temperature to their liking, as they see fit,” she says.
Emergency Readiness
Ward Memorial operates a Level IV Trauma Certified Emergency Department and is the community’s first source of support in critical situations. “We have a 30 minute trauma care benchmark that we are required to meet,” ER Manager and Trauma Coordinator Raquel Fuentes relays. “It’s a combination of having a strong internal system and reliable external partnerships. We focus on building clear protocols. We do regular staff trainings, rapid response workflows, so that every team member understands their role in case a trauma does come in.”
Outside support also plays an important role in fast and efficient intervention. “We have Avel eCare in three of our rooms in the ER. They provide immediate tele-emergency access to the rooms,” Fuentes details. “Having them ensures timely decision making. It supports our team that is on hand in the room, and it helps us deliver high quality care without any delay. We activate them before the trauma comes in, so we are all in the room and ready.” If a higher level of care is required, partnerships with Aerocare and City Ambulance make sure patients are transported quickly and safely.
Technology and Innovation for Quality Care
Behind the scenes, Ward Memorial has invested in digital infrastructure, running dark fiber from the hospital to the clinics, and adding a dedicated line for Avel eCare.
“That way there is no interruption,” Rodriguez conveys. “Sioux Falls, South Dakota is where home base is, where we’re accessing those ER physicians.” The hospital has taken advantage of various programs and grant opportunities, which have not only made it possible to expand broadband but also to enhance server capabilities.
“We are making sure that we have the right access to technology infrastructure to be able to support all of these different telehealth services within our area,” she notes.
Artificial intelligence is also being used across departments. “We implemented an AI platform about a year ago,” says Clinical Informatics Specialist Brandy Wolf. “Utilizing the technology has been super beneficial to us because we’re able to reach more patients in a timely way. We can also just send out our monthly newsletter and get them engaged into our facility, what we have to offer. It has been exciting to have an AI in our hospital this year.” Moving forward, the plan is to expand AI into additional service lines including cardiac rehab, and the surgical department. “We want to see how each department can utilize this technology to be more efficient, to ensure our patients are taken care of,” she asserts.
Ward Memorial recently joined the American Heart Association ‘Get With The Guidelines’ program, an initiative helping to inform quality care through evidence-based treatment guidelines. “After we implemented it, we discovered we were already delivering excellent care to our patients. We just weren’t documenting it in the correct format,” reports Wolf.
“So that’s when we formed a stroke committee and started working through the kinks, teaching the staff, this is where you document, this is how we capture it, and then just making sure at the end of the day our patients were being taken care of.”
Rodriguez shares that the hospital has also received bronze and silver recognitions through ‘Get With the Guidelines’ noting, “Those are programs that are really geared towards the larger facilities. It’s very rare that you see critical access hospitals taking advantage of those platforms and the data to drive better decisions and to strive to deliver that excellent care.
Having the ability to have that information to drive better health care better outcomes is why we went ahead and started with that program. And it was twofold, internally driving that excellence, but also we got some accolades from it.”
Workforce Development and Purposeful Partnership
To meet the growing need for skilled professionals, Ward Memorial Hospital has been building strong education and workforce development pipelines within its community and across the region. “We partnered early on with our high school,” Rodriguez imparts. “We do a lot of the clinical site work for our CNAs, our medical assistants, and the LVN program that is here locally.” Collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission has further strengthened these efforts.
“We’ve been very fortunate and blessed to be in partnership with them, and to take advantage of some of those grant opportunities that they have in upskilling our workforce,” she says. “The Workforce Commission received one of the largest grants that they’ve ever received. It was over $2 million, and we started that initiative, along with Odessa College and some other institutions.”
Ward Memorial helped design the program and continues to guide its implementation. “We basically structured that,” Rodriguez conveys. “They seek our help in coming up with how to implement a program that not only involves upskilling the clinical team, but also leadership development.”
Looking Ahead
With its renovation nearing completion, Ward Memorial Hospital is far from finished. “Our next project is building a new clinic,” Rodriguez discloses. “We’ve got two rural health clinics. One of them is a pretty old building, and we’ve outgrown it. We try to be creative in creating more space in patient rooms, but we are at full capacity.”
The plan calls for constructing a larger facility that will house the full team of practitioners, while the existing second clinic will transition into a dedicated specialty care center. Additional priorities include expanding inpatient services through nighttime tele hospitalist support, launching tele nocturnist coverage, recruiting new family practice physicians, and continuing to grow specialty offerings.
“We start with a foundation and keep building and capitalizing on those needs that we’ve identified in the community,” Rodriguez emphasizes, reflecting Ward Memorial Hospital’s commitment to high quality healthcare that puts patients first.
AT A GLANCE
Who: Ward Memorial Hospital
What: A 25-bed critical access hospital providing inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and specialty services.
Where: Monahans, Texas, serving Ward County and surrounding communities.
Website: www.wardmemorial.org
PREFERRED VENDORS/PARTNERS
MD Scribes LLC: www.mdscribes.com
MD Scribes, preferred vendor for medical documentation, provides both dedicated traditional scribes and scalable AI-supported hybrid solutions. Our bilingual, clinically trained scribes integrate seamlessly with provider workflows, anticipate physician needs, and ensure accurate, compliant charts—reducing burnout, lowering costs, and giving clinicians time back for patient care across health systems.
Vestra: www.vestrallc.com
Vestra, LLC is a rural healthcare revenue cycle management firm headquartered in Magee, Mississippi. With decades of specialized experience, Vestra partners with hospitals, clinics, and health systems to optimize financial performance through tailored billing, denial management, admissions oversight, and comprehensive reporting, enabling sustainability and improved cash flow in complex rural healthcare environments.
Avel eCare: www.avelecare.com
Founded in 1993 as the nation’s first Virtual Health System, Avel eCare provides virtual emergency, EMS, critical care, pharmacy, clinic, senior care, and behavioral health services to healthcare partners across the U.S. The organization specializes in expanding access, improving outcomes, and supporting care delivery in rural and underserved communities.
City Ambulance Service: www.cityambu.com
City Ambulance Service has led healthcare transportation since 2006. One of Texas’ fastest growing private ambulance providers, we deliver dependable, high-acuity ground transport statewide. Our services include BLS, ALS, MICU, CCT, 911 emergency response, disaster operations, behavioral health, bariatric, and specialty transports, supporting hospitals and healthcare facilities across Texas and beyond.
