New facilities and advanced technology are the order of the day for health care in the Heart of Texas.

Hillcrest Health System has recently moved into its new $185 million, 472,000-square-foot complex that includes a community hospital, two medical office buildings, and a women and children’s hospital.

The new Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center campus features everything from an outpatient surgery and imaging center and expanded emergency room facilities to wireless computers for staff. The 236-bed facility also offers a Level II trauma center and the Hillcrest Family Health Center, a network of family-medicine clinics.

The region's health-care community is defined more by its partnerships than competition, as evidenced by the recent partnership agreement that was finalized between Hillcrest and Scott & White Healthcare.

The agreement unites the two entities to operate Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center. Scott & White has more than 20 outpatient clinics in central Texas, a hospital and clinic in Temple and an acute-care hospital in Round Rock. It is the principal teaching facility for the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Change is in the air at Providence Healthcare Network as well, which continues to benefit from a $48.5 million expansion to Providence Heath Center, its main facility. The hospital saw its service area grow by almost 10 percent between 2000 and 2005 and expects a similar rate of growth ahead. The expansion, which included a five-story tower, doubled the ER to 50 beds, doubled the ICU and added six more suites to the surgery department.

Providence also has partnered with Waco Surgical’s Cecilia Mitchell Comprehensive Breast Center and the Providence Plaza Mammography Center of Waco Radiology to open a new breast-health center. The $3 million center is a full-service facility that offers advanced digital mammography and a spa-like atmosphere, according to Jonathan Ford, vice president of marketing.

The provider was also named a Joint Commission Accredited Primary Stroke Center.

“The interdisciplinary team of the Stroke Center at Providence will ensure patients are rapidly evaluated for treatment and receive all appropriate care to improve outcomes,” Ford says. “Providence will work to increase community awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke. This commitment reflects the deep commitment of Providence Healthcare Network to front-line stroke care in Waco and the surrounding area.”