National Hospital Week: Seymour Hospital a lifeline for Texoma's rural communities

Yahoo

16-05-2025

SEYMOUR (KFDX/KJTL) — Rural hospitals play a critical role in communities all over Texoma, providing care for those far away from hospitals in big cities.
Seymour Hospital is one of those filling the void for many needing quality care.
Across Texoma, rural hospitals play a critical role in all kinds of healthcare, with some towns nearly 45 minutes from the nearest hospital. In Baylor County, Seymour Hospital fills the void, providing care to more than just patients from Seymour.
Baylor County encompasses a large portion of Texas. Unlike other counties, which have many hospitals, we're the only one in this county that provides medical services to the people of Baylor County and surrounding counties.
One of Seymour Hospital's specialties is labor and delivery. Surrounded by rural communities, the hospital plays a major role in helping expectant mothers living far away from major cities deliver. Jennifer Griffin, one of the hospital's nurses, says the equipment they have, like the Halo bassinettes and ultrasound capabilities, makes the hospital an attractive location for them.
'They're the newer things that are out there. Moms really like them when they're recovering from c-sections. It gives them easy access. We're able to do monitoring here, like NST tests and ultrasound tests, so that you don't have to drive to Wichita Falls to have those things done.'
Sitting along a major highway, though, Seymour Hospital occasionally has to help patients who can't make it to a major hospital.
'What about that 25-week-old or little boy whose mom came in labor and then had the baby, and we were able to mask that baby because cooks couldn't come for three hours because of bad weather. And so we were trained enough to keep that baby stable and breathing until they got here. And that baby's three years old now.'
Though the staff at Seymour Hospital is highly regarded for its neonatal care, the rural setting requires nurses and doctors to do much more.
'You can't run a rural hospital with segregated duties. We're jacks of all trades. One minute, you may see one of the nurses in labor delivery, the next minute, they may be in ER, or they may be giving one-on-one care to an acute patient down the hall.'
Ginger Schmidt has been a nurse with Seymour Hospital for years, just like her mother before her. She's helped with everything from births to surgery recovery, and every one of them has been just as rewarding as the last.
'You see the happy mother that leaves with a healthy baby, and then it's good to know when you see an elderly person that's able to… came in unable to walk, and then they walk out the door.'
In some cases, Schmidt has created lifelong connections through her work at Seymour Hospital.
'I have one family that I've still kept in contact with. They were here for three months. I've built such a good friendship with them. I never met them before coming here. I went from being unable to do anything to. I got a video the other day; he was out mowing on his riding lawnmower.'
By playing so many roles, Seymour Hospital has been established over many years as a shining example of a rural hospital. It's a waypoint between major cities, and local patients don't have to go too far from home.
'It's the fact that you have a family member that lives here that can come and stay with you and be by your side at all times, or friends that can come up and visit and play cards or read a magazine with you. All that encompasses the health and well-being and nurturing of the care that we give here.'
An example of long-established, faithful, and valued care in the heart of Texoma.
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