Faith Community ER closure in Bowie

Bowie, Texas (KAUZ) - In less than a week the residents of Bowie will be without emergency room services. Less than a year after the Faith Community Bowie ER opened on Oct. 23 2023 it will be closed Sunday, Oct. 6 at 7 a.m.

Before this facility opened, Bowie had been without a local hospital or ER since 2020 when Central Hospital abruptly closed due to financial difficulties.

Frank Beaman, CEO of Faith Community Health System, said that the facility is not meeting the projections required to maintain operations.

"Operating what effectively is a free-standing ER is simply not sustainable without a greater level of financial support from the community," Beaman said.

The facility will not be receiving approximately $3.2 million of federal funding they had thought it qualified for. The City Manager of Bowie, Bert Cunningham, discussed why they didn't meet those qualifications.

"They depended on a federal program and they didn't fit the exact requirements of the program. The program was for existing facilities and this was a new facility," Cunningham said.

Current employees that are eligible will be reassigned to available positions within the system. Cunningham went on to talk about the impact this closure will have locally on the employees at the facility.

"There's a lot of employees out there that'll have to find jobs somewhere else. They can hopefully go to hospitals in the surrounding area and find a job. It'd be a lot better if they can stay in Bowie and work. It'd be better for our community," Cunningham said.

This closure will not affect the Rural Health Clinic as they will remain open. However Bowie residents will have to travel to towns like Nocona and Decatur for emergency care.