Hill Regional Hospital Celebrates its One-Year Anniversary

By Hill Regional Hospital

Raji Kumar, CEO of Hill Regional Hospital, saw the importance of having a community hospital for Hill County and the vital role it plays in the health and welfare for people living in the area. Her vision for this hospital came to life on August 1, 2020 – right in the middle of pandemic!

“Our heartfelt thanks go out to this community for believing in us as we made this commitment,” said Ms. Kumar, “as well as to our patients who put their trust in us with their care.”

As Chief of Nursing Operations, Catana Villarreal took the lead on our COVID-19 vaccine initiative. “We are grateful for the partnerships we developed with Hill County Judge Justin Lewis and Emergency Management Director Tom Hemrick, Ascension Hospital and Physicians, Hill College Nursing students, and even the army as we met the COVID-19 pandemic head on with a massive vaccine effort,” said Catana. Both hospital and many community volunteers also helped in this undertaking.

Hill Regional was especially pleased to be honored by the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce as Business of the Year. “We were able to accomplish this through the hard work and dedication of our amazing staff of professionals in all areas of the hospital,” added Ms. Kumar. “We truly couldn’t do it without them!”


What can be done in a year?


  • Raji was committed to keeping healthcare home by bringing many specialty physicians to practice in Hillsboro, serving all of Hill County and the surrounding area, and by establishing the Hill Specialty Clinic. Along with that, there is an Occupational Medicine practice for Workman’s Comp issues.
  • Additional physicians are located on our hospital campus who specialize in orthopedics, spine, pain management, pulmonology and sleep disorders, dermatology, oncology, neurosurgery, heart disease and other medical disciplines.
  • American Star Pharmacy is located on our campus and offers many specialty drugs for the community.
  • Hospitalists are now local doctors whom we know and trust, and a new Emergency Room physician group was brought in.
  • We have established a cath lab, a new Sleep Lab, offer in-patient dialysis, and expanded lab services.
  • We have added an additional Operating room to better serve our doctors.
  • Physical Therapy has added additional therapists and expanded their space.
  • Radiology department now offers 3-D mammography and a DEXA scan machine for bone density testing. Other equipment throughout the hospital has been updated.
  • The Silver Connections program for people over 50 is growing, and a Senior Center is being built for education, wellness, exercise, support groups, and activity programs.
  • Hill Regional has hired almost 60 new people, especially increasing our nursing staff.
  • And there is a lot more!

“Hill Regional is pleased to be active in the community,” said Business Development and Marketing Director. “I hope community organizations and businesses will continue to contact us for opportunities to reach and educate patients about health matters.”

Administrator and CFO Susan Popp said, “I love to walk through the halls at Hill Regional and see such a positive environment for its patients, visitors, and staff. This is a place that cares, and our patients are letting us know.”

To find out more, please visit us at www.hillregionalhospital.com . We hope you will celebrate this milestone with us. As for the future ----- it can only get brighter!