The brand-new Methodist Celina Medical Center welcomed its first patients on March 17, opening its doors moments before the sun rose to give one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities a new home for healthcare.
“Attention, attention,” a Celina Fire Department dispatcher announced over the radio that Monday morning, “Methodist Celina Medical Center is now open and accepting ambulances.”
The Collin County boomtown’s first hospital — and the 13th owned by or affiliated with Methodist Health System — welcomed its first patients at 7 a.m. That milestone comes nearly two years after work began on the 240,000-square-foot facility, located on 40 acres of Blackland prairie alongside the northern reaches of the Dallas North Tollway.
“It took us 97 years to get here, Celina, but we’re darn glad we’re here,“ said Methodist Chief Executive Officer James C. Scoggin, Jr., paying tribute to the health system’s near-century-long mission of serving the southern sector of Dallas and now well beyond. “We go where there’s need, and we meet that need. We run to it.”
A crowd representing the 200-plus staff members at Methodist Celina cheered as the signs over the emergency entrance blazed to life, giving the surrounding communities and the paramedics who serve them a new option for lifesaving care closer to home.
‘HEART AND SOUL’
Local families and community leaders got their first glimpses inside their hometown hospital days before Methodist Celina officially opened its doors to offer a diversity of service lines: trauma and emergency services, specialized cardiovascular care, cancer treatment, orthopedics, and robotic surgery.
At the first of two grand opening celebrations capped off by custom light shows put on by Skyworx Drone Shows, Celina Mayor Ryan Tubbs thanked Methodist executives, physicians on the medical staff, and other team members who welcomed the hospital’s grand opening shoulder to shoulder with the community.
“You’ve built not just a hospital but a cornerstone of our community’s future,” Tubbs told a crowd of about 200 city and system leaders who toured the hospital. “To the healthcare professionals who will bring this facility to life, you are the heart and soul of what Methodist Celina Medical Center will become.”
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
The grand opening was steeped in the history of Celina, nicknamed Rollertown because its industrious residents once loaded their homes and businesses onto rollers to move closer to a new rail stop at the turn of the 20th century. In recent years, the city has flourished, serving notice as one of America’s true boomtowns.
“Methodist saw our future before others did,” said Tubbs, noting that his city’s population has tripled in the past decade. “Your presence here represents a vote of confidence in what Celina is becoming.”
The hospital strikes a stunning profile with four stories of glass and steel rising from what was once 40 acres of pastureland where cattle grazed and wildflowers blossomed.
“Two years ago, this was just a big field full of longhorns,” said Pam Stoyanoff, president and chief operating officer of Methodist. “This gorgeous $237 million hospital will open with 51 beds and the ability to expand beyond that in the years to come.”
TRUST IS EARNED
The hospital’s staff will continue to grow, too, as Methodist builds on the 200 healthcare professionals he’s hired so far. Their mission now is to win the trust of their neighbors, he said.
“Trust is part of the framework of Methodist,” said Hunter, the hospital president. “We’ll have the opportunity to earn that trust from Celina and the surrounding communities — day after day, patient after patient, and moment after moment.”
That mission took root more than two years ago when local outreach efforts began, even before the hospital’s groundbreaking proceeded unfazed by a winter storm.
“You’ve seen us participating at community events and celebrations, you’ve seen us at Bobcat Football games, and you’ve seen us contributing to the local economy,” Stoyanoff said. “Methodist has a long history of embracing the communities we serve.”
FAITH-DRIVEN MISSION
Before the light show began, Hunter closed his remarks with a nod to the illuminated crosses that dominate the hospital’s façade, reflecting the faith-driven purpose behind Methodist Celina’s lifesaving mission.
“When you see those blue lights on the horizon and the glowing crosses facing west and north,” he said, “know that starting at 7 a.m. March 17, 2025, this community can trust Methodist.”
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