Does Amarillo Need Community Hospital with Hotel and Gym?

Amarillo has many things, but at the same time, they don't have a lot of things.

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Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that there has been a push to rebuild/remodel our civic center. The citizens voted it down in 2020 and the city came back this year and said that they were going to use tax anticipation notes to build a new/remodel our current civic center. Then, Alex Fairly sued the city to stop the use of TANs to build/remodel the civic center.

It's been a crazy battle and hopefully, we'll finally have an answer in October when this goes to trial.

I bring this up because I was perusing social media and found something posted that made me laugh. It's a great idea, but something like this in Amarillo is decades possibly a century away from happening.

Reddit user BlueTxVeggie posted this saying that Amarillo needs this community hospital hotel set up.

Although this is a great idea, many people have family members that are in long-term care, and having a hotel within walking distance from their hospital room would be beneficial. It would even be beneficial for traveling medical professionals, but this isn't feasible.

First of all, our two main hospitals are for-profit. So I don't see them putting in millions and millions so dollars to create this magical place. Taxpayers are nowhere near being in the mindset to even entertain something that is not beneficial to the entire community.

What is a community hospital?

all non-federal, short-term, general, and other special hospitals. a hospital that is accessible to the general public, and provides general or specific medical care that is usually short-term, in a cost-effective setting, and also focuses on preventing illnesses and not only treating them.

Although a community hospital would be a great thing for this area and very beneficial for the area, I don't see it happening. Unless a private organization comes in and spends millions of dollars or the city steps it, it won't happen. In the last 3 years, Amarillo has voted down a Civic Center, a very large Amarillo ISD bond, and a push to raise taxes to help improve our parks and public safety in Amarillo.

I do truly think the citizens of Amarillo do consider and do want better parks, more safety, and better schools, I just think the timing and the way things have been presented are the cause behind these bonds and propositions failing.

I don't see a community hospital with a hotel, cafe, and gym happening in Amarillo. I would say something like this is a pipe dream, but you never know.

Dreams do come true every now and then.

A Look Inside the Abandoned St. Anthony's Hospital in Amarillo, Texas

The old St. Anthony's hospital in Amarillo, Texas has sat abandoned--but not forgotten--since the early 2000s. The 100-year-old structure still cuts an imposing and impressive figure against the Amarillo skyline. The building serves as a cornerstone memory for many Amarillo natives--the place where life begun (or came to an end).

But for decades, the old St. Anthony's hospital has remained under careful surveillance, and not many know what now lies within. In July 2021, local artist and photographer, Ian Watson, was granted full access to the abandoned hospital--his photos offer an intimate and stark look at the legendary landmark of St. Anthony's as it stands now.

The Derelict Beauty of Amarillo's Abandoned Buildings

What is it about abandoned buildings tempts our imagination? Perhaps it's the fact that all of these places were once alive at one point of time. All of these buildings were once a part of everyday life.

But as they are now, they are empty and barren. All we have left of these abandoned properties in Amarillo are memories left to the echoes of time.