Crystal Campos Valls doesn't see the transition of services to Christus Spohn Shoreline from the Memorial campus and a new Westside health center as the end of an era, but rather a way to expand access for those seeking care and the professionals giving it.

"It's going to be a brand new clinic with more room for more physicians," Valls, a regional physician leader at Christus Family Medicine Associates-South. "The residents are going to be able to stay in this location, and (it) will be able to serve the population."

Area leaders broke ground Monday on the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Family Health Center, a proposed 43,000 square-foot facility set to open in 2016 on the property of Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial. A choir group from Zavala Elementary School opened the ceremony with a Christmas carol and rendition of "God Bless America."

The center will focus on preventive care and chronic disease management. Features will include a drive-thru pharmacy, an extended hours clinic and a wing for specialty health providers who will rotate through the clinic.

Once a major emergency room overhaul is made to Christus Spohn Hospital Shoreline, slated to cost nearly $300 million, and the facility is constructed, the current Memorial campus will be demolished.

Valls graduated from the residency program at Memorial before working for nine years at the Christus Spohn Family Health Center on the Westside.

"We have a clinic now, but it's not anywhere the size (of the new facility)," Valls said. "They're wanting to have classes for the indigent population and a kitchen for diabetic teaching and diabetic education classes. They're expanding to provide better care."

The late physician's daughter, Cecilia Garcia Akers, spoke along with Spohn leaders and other dignitaries.

"What a wonderful day this is for the citizens of Corpus Christi," said Cecilia Garcia Akers, daughter of the late physician, civil rights leader and American GI Forum founder. "It has been a tough road for us to get here today, but the hard work will begin in 2016 when the doors open."

The facility is scheduled to open by late summer or fall 2016.

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The groundbreaking for the Christus Spohn Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Family Health Center will be held on Monday on the grounds of Christus Spohn Hospital- Memorial. This new facility projected to be dedicated in 2016 represents, in part, the largest financial investment that Christus Spohn Health System has made to any of the communities it serves. Additional plans are to renovate parts of Spohn Shoreline, including the relocation of the Level II Trauma Center from Memorial hospital.

Health care is constantly evolving including the provision of specialized services in one location, improving the timely delivery of services to reduce patient wait times and being more comprehensive to improve patient outcomes.

Hospital corporations must all compete for the available health care dollar and must provide care in state-of-the-art facilities. Providers must also be responsible to every patient not only through the delivery of services, but through education of chronic disease management to prevent constant readmissions to the hospital for the same diagnosis.

Readmissions to hospitals are not only costly but are devastating to the patients and their family members who care for them.

The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Family Health Center when opened will serve the Corpus Christi community well. The first primary care facility of its kind, it will house 44,000 square feet of servicesincluding nursing, pharmacy, extended hours, specialty physician services and radiology. A patient will be able to walk up to the facility and see a physician for diagnosis and care. The benefit to the community will be that true emergency room visits will be sent to Spohn Shoreline Emergency Room. Extensive wait times to see a physician because one is not available, will be significantly reduced.

Education of chronic disease management is essential for improved patient outcomes. Patients and their family members must be knowledgeable in every aspect of a condition including blood sugar controls, pain management, the signs of infection and particularly for the patients who have a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure, which require comprehensive management.

The new facility will mean more than just having my father’s name on a building. This facility represents probably the greatest honor for Dr. Hector as it recognizes his role as a primary care physician. He was proud of his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He was skilled in caring for his patients at every level; however, he knew when a patient needed more specialized care. He would refer his patients out to his physician colleagues who could provide the specialized services that were needed.

Dr. Hector was well respected in the community for his role as aphysician. He was understanding with his patients, but was also strict in their care. He was many things to many people to include his efforts for veterans, and civil rights for Mexican-Americans. However, his role as a physician was his greatest achievement, caring for tens of thousands of patients including soldiers during World War II in different parts of the world. He successfully navigated through a very difficult educational system to be the only Mexican graduating in his class in 1940. He accomplished his residency in Omaha, Nebraska, when no Texas school would accept him to continue his education.

We can all support this wonderful and timely concept in Nueces County. Improving access to health care, providing timely diagnosis and care for chronic disease management, and ensuring that every patient receives the necessary education in nutrition, exercise, and medication management, these will certainly be the model for the delivery of health care for the next century. Thanks to Christus Spohn Health System for its vision to improve the quality of life for all of us. Dr. Hector P. Garcia would be proud that his patients and their families will receive the best available care that can be provided in a progressive and educational setting.

Cecilia Garcia Akers is a daughter of the late physician, civil rights leader and American GI Forum founder Dr. Hector P. Garcia.

Please plan to join us on January 15, 2016 for the official birthday celebration of Dr. Hector P. Garcia with this amazing friend and speaker Chairman Todd Hunter.

Cecilia Garcia Akers, daughter of Dr. Hector P. Garcia and President of the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Foundation was honored to accept the Legacy Award, awarded posthumously to Dr. Garcia from the 2015 Inaugural Latino Leadership Conference that was held in San Antonio Texas on October 28, 2015.

Pictured with Ms. Garcia-Akers is Ellen Torbert National Diversity Council Board member and Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion with South West Airlines, Angeles Valenciano President and Executive Vice President National Diversity Council, and Laura Alvarado National Diversity Council Senior Director of Operations and Communications.

Dr. Hector P. Garcia was presented posthumously the Latino Legacy Award by the Council for Latino Workplace Equity, on October 28, 2015 at the National Diversity Council’s Inaugural Latino Leadership Conference.

The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Foundation was pleased to present a Power Point presentation on the life of Dr. Hector P. Garcia to a very attentive audience at Haas Middle School, Corpus Christi, TX on October 14, 2015.  The Foundation thanks Haas Middle School for this exciting opportunity to speak about the legacy of Ddr. Hector P. Garcia.

Dr. Lynda Deleon, Principal

Jim Akers and Cecilia Garcia Akers

Cecilia Garcia Akers, Foundation President

 Haas Middle School Classroom

Jim Akers, Cecilia Garcia Akers, Dr. Nancy Vera, and Dr. Deleon

Lizette Duran holding the Presidential Medal of Freedom