Community Corner

NONPROFIT HOSPITAL

Few in Denton County know that the county operated a nonprofit hospital called Flow Memorial Hospital from 1950-1987.

From a pioneering Denton County family, Homer Flow was born in Pilot Point in 1870. Homer worked in one of Denton’s first blacksmith shops and his brother Virgil ran the Denton Opera House.

Blind during the last 25 years of his life, Homer Flow passed away in 1947 and donated his farm and home valued at $150,000 to a grant for Flow’s construction so citizens could receive medical care “not … limited to any group but that the hospital would be used as a city-county institution.” Denton County and Denton taxpayers approved two $150,000 bond issues to supplement Flow’s grant for the hospital’s establishment.

Flow Memorial Hospital, located at 1310 Scripture Street on Scripture Hill in Denton, opened in 1950.

Flow Memorial Hospital offered a 24-hour emergency room, plus an obstetrics unit with prenatal, postnatal and neonatal intensive care. The hospital also provided by Lewisville Attorney Delia Parker-Mims photo courtesy by the Denton Public Library

free- or low-cost wellness programs and services like Meals on Wheels’ lunches for housebound residents and emergency alert systems.

In 1959, a new wing was added thanks to funds from Mrs. Ada Raley and the federal Hospital Survey and Construction Act (or the Hill-Burton Act). The Ed and Bess Forester estate provided over half a million dollars to fund the construction of another wing in 1972.

Flow Memorial declared bankruptcy in 1987 and the building became an office space before being torn down in 2002 to make way for the construction of a student housing apartment complex called City Parc at Fry Street. During the demolition, hundreds of heritage oak trees were destroyed. Denton residents were so mad that they developed a new tree ordinance in 2003.

When Flow Memorial Hospital opened in 1950, the population of Denton County was 41,365 but by 2019, that population had grown to 887,207 — a 2,044% increase.

Of Denton County’s 2019 population, 104,244 or 12% lacked health insurance. Unfortunately, since many of those uninsured citizens didn’t qualify for indigent health care, they had to travel to Dallas County’s Parkland Hospital for health care treatment. From Denton, Parkland lies 36 miles away, making the travel time 40 minutes.

If Denton County operated a nonprofit hospital like before, these citizens would be able to receive health care nearby. I believe the community would benefit greatly if Denton County operated another nonprofit hospital like Flow Memorial Hospital.