CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – National Surgical Hospitals, an owner of surgical hospitals and surgery centers in partnership with local physicians, has opened its newest facility in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The new hospital, which NSH will operate in partnership with a group of 55 area physicians, is the company's 15th surgical hospital to open nationwide and its fifth in Texas.

"By accelerating the construction process by more than 90 days, we completed this facility well ahead of schedule and have already received accreditation from the Joint Commission, which enables the hospital to participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs and positions it to grow and thrive in the current regulatory environment," said John Rex-Waller, president of NSH.

The 63,000-square-foot South Texas Surgical Hospital is equipped with five operating rooms and 33 inpatient beds. It was designed to accommodate a range of multi-specialty surgical care, including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology and otolaryngology.

Many acute care hospitals across the country are concerned about the growth of physician-owned hospitals like South Texas Surgical, claiming that they focus on healthier and wealthier patients while leaving uninsured and underinsured patients to acute care facilities.

Rex-Waller touted the benefits that the new hospital would bring to the region.

"We think our ability to offer expanded healthcare choices to consumers in south Texas will bring greater cost efficiency and convenience to the area while creating increased practice efficiencies for the surgeons who utilize our facility," he said.

NSH has operational surgical hospitals in Arizona, California, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. It also has operational orthopaedic-focused surgery centers in Arizona, California, Michigan and Texas.