Medical City McKinney sweetens campus with beehives

That sound you hear outside Medical City McKinney could be the murmur of busy bees, bustling in their hives to make more honey.

The Texas facility this spring installed six hives on seven acres of its undeveloped land west of the hospital.

“As we embarked on the expansion of our newly opened behavioral health and inpatient rehabilitation pavilion, we saw a unique opportunity to partner healthcare with sustainability. Honeybees support a healthy environment, improving human life all around us,” said Ernest C. Lynch III, CEO of the HCA hospital in McKinney.

The hives are home to 150,000 bees tended by local beekeeper Mark Bullock, who the hospital contracted to manage the hives. Bullock only spends about two hours a month minding his charges, since bees are “self-sufficient,” said Sally Huggins, a hospital spokeswoman.

To keep their new neighbors happy, hospital staffers have planted a variety of native Texas flora nearby as food sources, including black-eyed susans, lantana and salvia, with plans for native grasses to be added soon. 

The recent first harvest of 2 gallons of honey was shared with hospital workers and board members, but by next summer the hives are expected to yield several hundred pounds of honey. The plan is distribute it free not only to employees, but to share it with Medical City sister hospitals. 

The campus’ apian addition was a green initiative. “We were looking for ways to enhance our environmental sustainability and create a natural healing environment. We wanted an environmentally friendly use of the undeveloped property and honeybees are vital cross-pollinators for flowers that beautify the area,” Huggins said.