CHESTER – A new medical clinic is coming to Chester, bringing local, dependable, and expanded healthcare access directly into the community. The clinic will be built next to BOM Bank on Highway 287 and is expected to arrive next February.
It will open two to three days a week to begin with and will be staffed by family nurse practitioner Timber Wright, who grew up in Chester and graduated from Chester High School.
Speaking at the dedication ceremony held this past Saturday at Texas A&M University in College Station, Wright said she is honored to return home in this role. She shared that the clinic will offer comprehensive family practice services, explaining, “This clinic will allow families in Chester to receive high-quality care right here at home. We will be able to serve patients from infancy through adulthood, and we are committed to providing consistent, accessible healthcare for this community.”
“It means a great deal to me to be able to come back to the place that raised me and help meet the medical needs of the people here,” she added.
The ceremony in College Station marked the dedication of six Texas Aggie Medical Clinics, each prepared for deployment to a different location. Clinics were readied for Ukraine, Belize, Malawi, Massachusetts, Burton, Texas, in addition to Chester. Each clinic was named in honor of a fallen Aggie whose life reflected service and sacrifice. The Chester clinic is dedicated to First Lieutenant Matthew Vandegrift, a United States Marine Corps officer known for his integrity, humility, and deep faith.
Vandegrift was born in Houston in 1980, graduated from Leander High School with honors, and earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average at Texas A&M University while serving in the Corps of Cadets. He later deployed to Iraq, where he served with distinction. At the ceremony, those who spoke described him as someone who “never lived in the future or the past… he always lived in the present,” honoring a life that embodied courage and purpose. The clinic that will soon serve Chester now carries his name.
A group representing Chester and Church in the Country attended the ceremony to celebrate the clinic’s dedication. Present were Pastor Jordan Wilson; his wife Emily, who serves as Director of the Polk County Special Services Cooperative, supporting local schools including Chester with their special education needs; and their children Kennedi and Grant, who attend Chester High School and Chester Junior High. Also attending were nurse practitioner Timber Wright; recent Chester graduate Cutter Lowe; Chester ISD employee and Chester graduate Becki Byrd and her daughter Lillie Byrd, a Chester High School student; and Erika Akin with her daughters Virgie and Cheyenne from Church in the Country. Those present also enjoyed a rare opportunity to meet Reveille X, the First Lady of Aggieland and the official mascot of Texas A&M University.
The clinic is being constructed and donated by BUILD, a student-led organization at Texas A&M University. BUILD exists to bring students from all colleges and organizations together through a unifying construction project that honors the Aggies who died in the Bonfire collapse. Students design and construct Texas Aggie Medical Clinics, which are 40-foot shipping containers converted into modern medical facilities. Each clinic includes patient triage space, laboratory testing areas, and private treatment rooms. The Chester clinic will be one of the first Texas Aggie Medical Clinics placed in Texas and is being provided at no cost to the community.
Medical operations in Chester will be overseen by Houston County Family Medical Clinic of Crockett, a practice known for its compassionate and cost-effective approach to acute and chronic care, wellness services, and long-term patient support. Church in the Country is serving as the nonprofit partner for the project and will own both the clinic building and the land it sits on.
Pastor Jordan Wilson, of Church in the Country, expressed the significance of the clinic for Chester, saying, “Our church is grateful to play even a small role in bringing in this clinic. We are committed to ensuring that it becomes a stable and valuable part of the community of Chester for many years to come. The people of Chester deserve local access to quality medical care, and this project makes that possible. I am especially encouraged by the availability of mental health services, because rural communities often face serious gaps in that area. We have complete confidence in Timber and in Houston County Family Medical Clinic’s ability to provide excellent, forward-thinking care for the people of Chester.”
The arrival of this clinic marks an important step forward for the community. A ribbon-cutting event will be scheduled once the building is delivered and site preparation is complete early next year.
