The first free-standing children’s hospital in the Valley is expected to open its doors next year.

Officials broke ground Thursday for the Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley.

The eight-level facility - located on the Edinburg campus of DHR Health - will include a neo-natal intensive care unit, acute inpatient and outpatient surgery, and a child life program.

The new facility is expected to make a big impact for families with children needing special medical care.

"The children of this market absolutely deserve a standalone children's hospital,” Driscoll System President and CEO Eric Hamon said. “There's going to be a standalone emergency room. There's going to be rehabilitation services, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy."

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The children’s hospital will also provide specialty services for kids like 4-year-old Audrey, who is diagnosed with transverse myelitis. Audrey’s family is feeling a sense of comfort knowing once the new facility is built, they won't have to drive nearly three hours to get her the care she needs.

“It was always a scary road trip,” said Audrey’s father, Leonel Garza. “For two and a half hours, we didn’t know what to expect from here to over there. Anything could happen.”

The new hospital will also bring more than 450 new jobs to the Valley.

Construction is set to begin later this year with an anticipated opening date in late 2022.