UT Southwestern Medical Center opens in southern Dallas County to help nearby residents

DALLAS - People got to check out a new game changing medical center in southern Dallas this weekend, as the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Red Bird opened up.

"Many of our residents from the south side of town, they have to go 30-40 minutes away, and now they put that within 10-15 minutes away," said Keith Binson, with YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas. "You can come from the southside of Dallas, you can come from Cedar Hill, Duncanville, DeSoto, Lancaster."

An opening event was held Saturday, and people from the community said it will make their healthcare selections easier.

"Typically, you have to drive across town," said Barbara McCulloch, who lives in DeSoto.

"Options, as far as having to drive to another part of town," said Nancy White, who lives in Oak Cliff.

Located off Camp Wisdom Road, it’s the first academic medical center for southern Dallas County.

"In addition to primary care services, we’ll have some medical specialties, like cardiology, neurology and even oncology," said Dr. Ericka Walker-Williams, with UT Southwestern.

Dr. Walker-Williams said some residents might be skeptical of how long the hospital will last in this part of town.

"Some of these medical centers come and some of them go," she said.

But she added they’re here to stay, and there was a lot of work that went into launching this hospital.

"A lot of people behind the scenes for many, many years," she explained.

It will create accessible healthcare for nearby neighborhoods.

"It’s creates access for them to be able to come get quality care," Dr. Walker-Williams said.