Laredo Medical Center Marks 2025 Progress, Quality Milestones and Plans for Expanded Access to Care

1/15/2026

Laredo Medical Center continued to expand access to care and strengthen clinical services across Laredo, Webb County and the surrounding South Texas region, while advancing several projects aimed at meeting the community’s evolving healthcare needs.

“Our focus remains on providing timely, appropriate care close to home,” said Jorge Leal, FACHE, chief executive officer of Laredo Medical Center. “That means investing in services, infrastructure and our people, while maintaining a strong emphasis on quality and patient safety.”

Emergency Care Expansion

To address growing demand in southeast Laredo, construction is underway on the $22 million Laredo Medical Center Buena Vista ER. Scheduled to open in summer 2026, the freestanding emergency department will provide 24-hour emergency care with on-site radiology and laboratory services and backed by the resources from the hospital’s main campus.

“As this area continues to grow, improving access to emergency care is an important step in providing timely treatment for our community,” Leal said.

Quality Milestones

During the year, Laredo Medical Center earned several clinical designations that reflect its ability to deliver time-sensitive, evidence-based care for critical conditions, including:

• Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Primary PCI: Recognizing the hospital’s coordinated approach to the rapid evaluation and treatment of patients with heart attack symptoms, including timely access to interventional cardiology services.
• Advanced Primary Stroke Center Certification: Awarded by The Joint Commission, this designation confirms the hospital’s capability to provide time-sensitive stroke care by specialized teams and standardized protocols.
  These designations are tied directly to how care is delivered when minutes matter,” said Leal. “They demonstrate the systems, protocols and clinical expertise in place to support cardiac and stroke patients.”

Beyond clinical accreditations, the hospital received several national and system-level recognitions for organizational performance, workforce engagement and quality outcomes:

• The hospital’s Skilled Nursing Unit earned a High Performance designation from U.S. News & World Report for the ninth consecutive year. Fewer than 19% of nursing facilities nationwide receive this recognition, which evaluates consistency for post-acute care, rehabilitation and patient outcomes.
• Becker’s Healthcare Review named Laredo Medical Center among the “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare” and “100 Hospitals and Health Systems with Great Oncology Programs,” acknowledging both employee engagement and the scope of cancer services available locally.
• The hospital also received recognition from Community Health Systems, earning the Outstanding Achievement Award in Hospital Quality and the Top Performer Award for Employee and Physician Engagement, the latter awarded in both 2024 and 2025.

Workforce and Physician Development

As patient volumes continue to grow, physician recruitment and workforce development remain key priorities. During the year, Laredo Medical Center expanded its provider network with the addition of new specialists and a family nurse practitioner, further expanding access to care across multiple service lines.

New providers include:

• David F. Bruni, MD - an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and shoulder surgery.
• Gordon Chu, MD - a neurosurgeon with nearly two decades of experience in minimally invasive spine surgery and complex spinal procedures, including treatment of tumors and degenerative disease.
• Rochelle V. Gonzalez, FNP-BC, a board-certified family nurse practitioner with a clinical focus on women’s health, menopause, and the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and hypo/hyperthyroidism.

These additions support the hospital’s broader workforce strategy, which includes the city’s only graduate medical education programs in family medicine and internal medicine. Since 2018, the programs have graduated five residency classes, with 22 physicians choosing to remain in Laredo and practice throughout the local healthcare system.

Service Growth and Partnerships

In 2025, the hospital also expanded several service lines to better serve the community. A new Women’s Imaging Center opened in north Laredo, increasing access to lifesaving screenings and essential women’s health services.

Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services were expanded to support post-acute recovery following hospitalization.

With continued growth in specialty care, the hospital celebrated the opening of new clinics for orthopedics and sports medicine, and neurosurgery and spine care.

In addition, Laredo Medical Center surpassed 2,000 robotic-assisted surgeries across multiple specialties and launched a joint venture with Gastroenterology Consultants of Laredo. Since January, the partnership has supported more than 3,500 advanced gastrointestinal procedures, expanding access to specialized care locally.

Looking Ahead

As the hospital enters 2026, priorities include continued physician recruitment, sustained quality improvement efforts and deeper collaboration with community partners to support coordinated, patient-centered care.

“As we move forward, I am grateful to our skilled caregiving team, medical staff and a local board of physicians and community leaders, whose commitment makes this work possible,” Leal said. “Their dedication to our patients and our community continues to guide how we grow and serve the region in the years ahead.”

For more information, call (956) 796-3223.

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