Calhoun County Texas began to be organized in 1846; back then, its main industry was commercial fishing and farming. By 1950, around 9,000 residents lived in Calhoun County. On Monday, April 10, 1950, Memorial Medical Center in Port Lavaca opened its doors for service; at that time, the hospital was named Calhoun County Memorial Hospital and approximately 3,000 people visited it on its opening day. The name of this hospital has changed on several occasions; the first time was in 1961 when it was changed from Calhoun Memorial Hospital to County Memorial Hospital. In 1962, the name was changed again, this time from County Memorial Hospital to Champ Traylor Memorial Hospital; this name was chosen to honor Champion Travis Traylor, a long time leader in Calhoun County. The last name change of this hospital occurred in March, 1986 when it changed from Champ Traylor Memorial Hospital to Memorial Medical Center.
In October 1999, Memorial Medical Center opened Memorial Medical Plaza, the home of the Calhoun County YMCA and the Physical Therapy, Home Health and Kidney Dialysis Unit of this hospital. Memorial Medical Center in Port Lavaca is owned and operated by Calhoun County. This non-profit institution is a full service medical facility that has over 300 employees, 18 doctors on staff and 25 patient beds. Memorial Medical Center offers the best quality health services and the best technology and care through qualified professionals that understand each patient.