More than 30 years ago, the cities of Killeen and Copperas Cove seemed a million miles apart as each city tried to get a hospital built. The two communities worked separately, sometimes competing against each other, as they tried again and again.

Only a miracle could get the two communities working together. And a miracle did happen, when Metroplex Hospital opened in September 1978.

Metroplex Hospital, keystone of the Metroplex Health System for nearly 30 years, is located at the far western edge of Killeen and Bell County at 2201 South Clear Creek Road, nestled next to Central Texas College and the Tarleton-Central Texas University campus. About a half mile away is Fort Hood, the world’s largest military installation. Just minutes away to the west on Highway 190 is the city of Copperas Cove in Coryell County. Both Killeen and Copperas Cove claim the 238-bed Metroplex Hospital as “their own,” and rightfully so. They worked through their differences to build a quality, state-of-the-art hospital that has grown with the communities it serves. Now part of Metroplex Health System, Metroplex Hospital celebrated its 25th anniversary at a Sunday, October 12, 2003, on the South Clear Creek campus.

The story of the hospital’s founding is revealed in the hospital’s logo — two figures shaking hands to form a stylized “M” for “Metroplex.” The “M” represents the cities of Copperas Cove and Killeen. The logo also stands for a comprehensive healthcare system consisting of Metroplex Hospital in Killeen and Rollins Brook Community Hospital in Lampasas. The system also comprises the Pavilion Behavioral Health Facility, MetroFlex Rehabilitation Center, MetroKids Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, Metroplex Advanced Imaging Center with an open MRI, Sleep Disorders Center and the newly opened Metroplex Ambulatory Surgery Center. The Metroplex Health System also includes the Center for Cancer Prevention and Care, operated by Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic.  Based in Copperas Cove, the Home Care of Metroplex Home Health Service, also an important outreach for Metroplex, serves residents of Bell, Coryell, Burnet, Lampasas and Williamson counties.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, most Killeen and Copperas Cove residents traveled from 30 to 100 miles away for medical care. Copperas Cove, wanting to attract more business, needed to lure more doctors; to get more doctors, the city needed to have a hospital. Killeen had three modest hospitals, but they were inadequate to serve the growing military and civilian population.

By the early 1960s, two of the three Killeen hospitals closed, leaving Hillandale Hospital as the only facility for Killeen, Copperas Cove and surrounding communities. However, the Hillandale Hospital building, with 35 patient rooms and two restrooms, was inadequate for the large number of patients it admitted. The hospital’s owners were slow to make improvements. In 1966, the Copperas Cove Hospital Authority was created to help establish a hospital in Copperas Cove. Meanwhile, the Killeen Hospital Authority was also formed to build another hospital. Competition was intense between the two cities. 

During an encounter on a commuter flight between Killeen and Dallas, the course of action of the hospital changed dramatically.  Franklin R. House M. D., who served as the Medical Director of the eleven-physician multi-specialty clinic (House Medical Clinic in Killeen), approached Bill Estes the financial underwriting agent for the Copperas Cove Hospital Authority.  Dr. House proposed joining forces between Copperas Cove Hospital Authority and House Medical Clinic for the purposes of solving their mutual need for new hospital facilities.  House’s proposal included the building of a new hospital mid-way between the two cities of Killeen and Copperas Cove and a governing board composed of an equal number of representatives from each city.

In October 1976, the old, worn Hillandale Hospital was bought by the Southwestern Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists from the Copperas Cove Hospital Authority, which in turn sold it to the Copperas Cove Hospital Authority. The Seventh-day Adventists agreed to manage and operate the hospital for the Authority. To symbolize the new ownership and management, the hospital’s name was formally changed to Metroplex Hospital because the facility would serve the entire Central Texas metropolitan area.

By May 1977, officials broke ground for a new 78-bed hospital on unincorporated acreage next to Central Texas College and midway between Killeen and Copperas Cove. The building was completed by October 1978, when the first patients were admitted to the new hospital. At that time, Metroplex had 10 physicians.

Metroplex Hospital continued to serve patients in Bell, Coryell and surrounding counties. As communities grew, the hospital needed more patient rooms. Advanced medical technology also called for more space for equipment and staff. In 1990, Metroplex Hospital broke ground for its first major expansion — a two-story administration wing, medical/surgical area and more patient beds. Metroplex Hospital now had 117 beds and more than 50 physicians.

The 1990s was a decade marked by growth of its services and physician specialties. Seeing that its mission and service area was expanding, Metroplex Hospital assumed control of Rollins Brook Community Hospital in Lampasas in 1991. The next year, Metroplex Hospital opened the Pavilion, a 60-bed behavioral health facility on the South Clear Creek Road campus. Metroplex Hospital had grown to become Metroplex Health System, encompassing a wide array of services and physician offices. By 1994, ground was broken on a $6 million expansion on the South Clear Creek Road campus. Home Care of Metroplex, a home health agency, opened. It now operates at its home base in Copperas Cove. By the next year, HomeCare was extended to Lampasas.

In 1996, the 28,000-square-foot expansion to the emergency medicine department tripled services. Metroplex Hospital also added a permanent MRI, two new operating suites and a 14-bed same-day surgery unit. Cardiology and nephrology services were also added. New technology to monitor patients’ vital signs and telemetry was also installed. Inpatient dialysis also began.

In 1998, the Mobile Wellness Unit which provides free or low-cost health education and screenings hit the road. It is also equipped to provide immunization and health care to local and rural communities. Rollins Brook Community Hospital also broke ground for a $2.5 million expansion to improve its building that was built in 1935.

A new three-story $6.5 million addition was completed in 2001 to house expanded cancer treatment and physician offices. Located on the front of Metroplex Hospital’s south wing, the 17,500-square-foot building was named to honor the memory of the two visionaries who helped make Metroplex a reality in 1978 – Lovett Ledger and Roy J. Smith. The two had been poles apart, even rivals at times. But, in the end, they had formed an unbreakable partnership to get the hospital established.

However, Metroplex Health System cannot rest on its laurels. In early 2006, Metroplex Hospital completed work on its new patient tower expansion that added three floors to the current two-story north wing. The 62,248-square-foot expansion added 22 private rooms to the fifth floor—14 designated as surgical/medical patient rooms and eight as orthopedic rooms. The floor also includes a hydrotherapy whirlpool and rehabilitation gym. The fourth floor includes 24 ICU and intermediate care rooms. The third floor has been shelled in and reserved for future use. The new construction on top of the present two-story administration building now features a distinctive tower which serves as a sentinel to anyone who drives by the Clear Creek Road campus.

Metroplex is not “just another big tall building,” said Ken Finch, president and chief executive officer of Metroplex Health System. “Metroplex is becoming a full-service medical center. In 50 years, hospitals may be dinosaurs. Health care may be totally different. I do see Metroplex becoming a place where all specialties and all types of care could be provided.”