Days after announcing purchase of Titus Regional hospital, Christus Health opens new ER in Mount Pleasant

Published 5:30 am Wednesday, February 11, 2026

MOUNT PLEASANT – In one week’s time, Christus Health went from having no emergency rooms in Titus County to two.

Community members and leaders of the nonprofit health system celebrated the opening of a new emergency department here Monday, one week after officials at Titus Regional Medical Center announced they are selling the county’s hospital to Christus Health.

Mount Pleasant community members, Christus employees and Titus Regional employees comprised the large crowd at Monday’s grand opening ceremony of the new freestanding emergency room at 130 Tankersley Road. The 36,000-square-foot facility includes a 13-bed emergency department with state-of-the-art imaging technology and an onsite laboratory, Christus officials said. The facility will employ 50 full-time nurses, providers and support staff.

The company’s CEO also delivered news that Titus County residents have been wondering about for days: What will Christus do for their healthcare now that it is in charge of the county’s long-established hospital and the county’s newest emergency department?

“Our sole purpose of being in Mount Pleasant is to grow care in this community, and it’s to expand services,” said Chris Glenney, CEO for Christus Northeast Texas and Louisiana.

The board of directors of Titus Regional, the last independently owned and operated hospital in Northeast Texas, announced Feb. 2 that the hospital is being sold to Christus Health after years of financial difficulty. The sale process is expected to take months, but hospital operations will continue uninterrupted, officials said.

Rural hospitals across the nation have closed or reduced services amid soaring inflation and low reimbursement rates from insurance companies and the federal government. Joining a large healthcare system generally brings operational savings and potentially stronger revenue to smaller hospitals.

In Longview and Sulphur Springs, county officials have credited Christus with stepping in to save their hospitals from financial difficulty, and the organization has invested $1 billion in its East Texas facilities through infrastructure upgrades and service expansion, Christus officials said.

During public meetings and on social media, Titus County residents and hospital employees have expressed concerns about whether Christus will reduce Titus Regional’s line of award-winning medical services. Some employees criticized Christus’ management of Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, which Christus purchased after its former owner went bankrupt.

Glenney said he spoke with Titus Regional employees and physicians in the past week.

“The question’s always the same: What can we be doing more in this community to help the healthcare industry grow – more patient care, more opportunities, more service lines,” Glenney said. “How do we strengthen the great work that the Titus team has done, and how do we grow? That is what we’re here to do.”

Referring to the new emergency department behind him, he said: “That is what we’re here to do. I think this is a first example. This facility is a little over $30 million of economic development for Mount Pleasant, and it is exactly representative of the emphasis and the strength that Christus Health will bring to Mount Pleasant.”

Christus broke ground on construction of the new emergency department in March 2025, months before Titus Regional leaders announced they were seeking a new owner or partner. How Christus will integrate the new emergency department with the long-established county hospital was unclear Monday.

Also unclear was how ambulance crews would decide which ER to take patients to. Titus Regional Medical Center operates its own ambulance service for the county.

Glenney was unavailable for comment after Monday’s ceremony.

Titus Regional leaders said in a Facebook post Monday that they will work together “to help ensure patients have access to the appropriate level of care.”

“This includes coordination around the use of county EMS services and collaboration with other EMS providers when patients require transfer to a higher level of care outside of the county,” the post read. “Our shared focus is on timely access, clear communication, and the safest possible transitions when advanced services are needed. We look forward to continued dialogue and collaboration as we collectively serve our community.”

Titus County Judge Kent Cooper, Mount Pleasant Mayor Wesley Lyon and City Manager Rob Vine thanked Christus for investing in the community. They said the improvement of the county’s healthcare is helpful to economic development.

“We are seeing a major investment in the most important part of our community – again, our people,” Vine said.

The opening of the emergency department on Monday was only part of what the new facility will include. By April, it will include additional clinic space for providers in primary care, outpatient physical therapy, and cardiology, officials said. It also will include space for visiting specialists.

Glenney and Christus officials said the nonprofit organization’s mission is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, something the new facility – and the organization’s ownership of Titus Regional – align with.

“We are delighted. We are excited,” Glenney said. “We are enthusiastic about this community, and we just cannot wait for a very, very bright future.”