Frederick Hospital groundbreaking thanks to community determination and support

FREDERICK, Okla. (KSWO) – Following the closure of Tillman County Memorial Hospital in 2016, residents of Frederick and the surrounding area are looking forward to a new era of critical community health care under Comanche County Memorial Hospital.

A day that 63rd District State Representative Trey Caldwell has been working toward since the beginning of his term in office.

“We’ve been working on this for a good six years now,” Caldwell said. “It’s been eight years since they lost the hospital. I’ve been involved in the project for over six years now, 2,296 days.”

Caldwell and his colleagues emphasized this number because many of them testified to the urgency he felt to achieve this.

“After the meeting was over, I heard several people say if we can get Trey Caldwell to not bring up anything else, we will fund this project in Tillman County,” said former Oklahoma House Speaker Loyd Benson.

Caldwell thanked many for their support, including Deputy Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Kyle Hilbert, who said this project will save lives not only in Tillman County, but across the state.

“This is not just happening in Frederick, but in five communities in Oklahoma, and it’s because of Frederick, Oklahoma,” Hilbert said. “Because of what we envisioned and developed here in Tillman, we developed a program that can be replicated in four other communities across the state.”

For communities like Frederick that are struggling to access health care, longtime resident Linda Dickson advises not to give up.

“Don’t give up,” Linda Dickson said. “There are people who will fight for you. Sometimes people have said to me, ‘No, that’s not going to happen.’ Then there were people like Trey and others who just didn’t give up, they kept fighting, and I’m so glad they did.”

A CCMH board member says there is no set opening date for Memorial Health of Tillman County, but official construction is scheduled to begin in six months.

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