Health Center to open: It’s a Pharr/DHR partnership
According to a press release sent out this Monday by both the City of Pharr and DHR Health, expanded mental health resources in RGV are kicking into gear this week with the groundbreaking of a new state-ofthe- art behavioral health hospital on N. Jackson.
Officials from both the City of Pharr and DHR Health will gather to commemorate the start of construction for this 100-bed facility, a project funded in part by Texas’s new investment in behavioral health.
The groundbreaking event took place Tuesday on a N. Jackson 10.93-acre plot of land, valued at $1.9 million, donated by the city of Pharr to facilitate the project.
Thanks to the 88th Texas Legislature’s $2.1 billion funding boost for mental health services, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission awarded DHR Health an $85-million grant to construct this much-needed facility, which will be located at 4800 N. Jackson.
The new hospital, which will open in approximately 19 months, the summer of 2026, will be co-located with DHR Health’s existing behavioral health services, bringing Pharr its first hospital and boosting the local economy.
Once complete, this public- private initiative will provide increased inpatient and outpatient mental health services, while creating jobs and adding vital healthcare resources for families across the Valley.
Pharr City Manager Jonathan Flores pointed to the area’s need for more mental-health services and the city’s efforts to meet that need.
“I think if you look at mental health as a whole, you look at the resources that the Valley has, and we need more resources as it pertains to mental health (care), and we need more facilities.”
The demand, if you will, is not in doubt, said Flores.
“As part of the grant, the City of Pharr offered land to host the hospital, following a competitive bid process. This collaboration (with DHR) reflects the city’s commitment to addressing critical mental health needs in the region, where a backlog of 2,500 individuals await behavioral health services. So it just really makes sense for us to engage in this partnership and to be a regional leader in mental health, and offer another opportunity for mental health (services).”
When the new Pharr-based hospital opens in the summer of 2026, it will feature 100 beds as well as making use of DHR’s shared resources at its behavioral health hospital in Edinburg.
“It seems fitting to have one here in Pharr being that we are wholeheartedly committed to mental health and mental health intervention,” said Flores, making note that the Hub City was the first municipality in the RGV to create a dedicated mental health unit “in our police department.”
The way the Valley traffic has increased over the past several years, with road construction ongoing in most county quadrants, “close proximity,” especially as it relates to health issues, is more than just a little important, said Flores.
“I think that for us, it's about having an opportunity to have people in our community have a readily accessible facility so that if their loved ones need mental health intervention, they have a place where they can go and not have to travel to other cities.”
Currently, Edinburg and Harlingen have mental- health hospitals, but that’s not a lot for a county like Hidalgo with approximately 1 million residents. Plus, Harlingen is located in Cameron County.
“This is about serving our community and also serving the region,” said Flores, “and having us as a center point where we are the hub city. So having a mental health facility here in our city makes a big difference. It’s going to make a big difference as if pertains to mental health.”
Giving the Pharr city commission credit for this project, in league with DHR, Flores said, “Our elected officials are always looking for ways that we can have an impact in our community. And this is just another way of doing that.”