Amarillo’s medical district sees growth with new developments in the works

AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) - Filled with hospitals, special care facilities, doctors’ offices and more, the medical district is bustling in west Amarillo.

"The medical district is unique in that there are over 10,000 people that work in this general vicinity so you get a lot of people,” said Ben Whittenburg, agent and owner at Gaut Whittenburg Emerson.

On Plum Creek Drive, two facilities are up for sale as the street sees internal changes and new development.

“We have two medical facilities adjacent to each other which is fairly unique at a medical center,” said Whittenburg.

While one facility recently closed after the doctor retired, the other, Quail Creek Ear Nose and Throat, is getting a new, larger building next door where they hope to move in by early January.

Across the street, $700,000 in building permits were recently issued at Quail Creek Surgical Hospital for alterations.

Around the corner on Quail Creek Drive, Southwest Neuroscience and Spine Center just broke ground, as the practices of Southwest Neurosciences and High Plains Neurosurgery combine. The new facility is expected to open in August 2019.

"It allows us to gather, get efficient with our surgeons, with our staff and also help recruit additional neurosurgeons into the market place as they come together,” said Don Thompson, Chief Operation Officer of Family Medicine Centers.

Over near BSA, Proffer Surgical Associates is adding on an additional two operating rooms to better serve patients, and hopes to have it complete by late March or early April.

"It'll provide another place for patients to have a surgery in a comfortable environment,” said Paul Proffer, a surgeon with Proffer Surgical Associates. “Many cosmetics patients want to be discreet when they're having a procedure like that so I think an office that can offer that as part of their building is a good service to patients and I think they appreciate that."

With plenty of projects in development, Amarillo continues to serve as a growing medical hub in the Texas Panhandle.

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