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The newly planned patient tower at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth will be named Cramer Tower in recognition of the signature gift of Karen Cramer.
The five-story Cramer Tower will add 64 patient beds when the first two floors open in 2028, with shell space designed to accommodate future growth and vertical expansion.
The tower is part of an estimated $223 million investment that also includes modernization of six original operating rooms to enhance surgical services.
"My father helped start this hospital, and now I want to see it continue to care for future generations," said Cramer. "I have worked very hard, and I've been blessed to be able to give back to the community that has given me so much. My legacy won't be in the buildings — it will be in the devotion I feel for Texas Health and the entire Fort Worth community."
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Karen Cramer’s generosity has long reflected her devotion to Methodist causes.
The gift represents a full-circle moment in the hospital's history. In the 1980s, Cramer’s father, Jud Cramer, along with the health system's CEO at the time, drove off in an Oldsmobile Toronado to scout locations for what would become Texas Health Southwest.
At the time, the site was nothing but prairie land, but those two recognized the growth of the city would shift to the southwest.
They were right. Southwest Fort Worth is projected to add roughly 90,000 people by 2045, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Jud Cramer was past chair of the Harris Methodist System Board. Mr. Cramer’s history with Harris Methodist dates to 1967, when he was first elected to the board of Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital. In 1982, he was elected to the Harris Methodist Health System Board.
The Cramer family has had a long history of supporting Methodist causes.
Karen Cramer pledged $5 million to get Texas Wesleyan’s football stadium complex construction underway. The Karen Cramer Stadium is being constructed in three phases. The first two phases — the stadium turf and lighting, and the athletic field house — have been completed. The stadium seating is next.
Karen Cramer has established herself as a healthcare leader in her own right, serving for years as a volunteer and trustee on the Texas Health Resources Foundation Board.
“Fort Worth is the perfect town for me, as it was for my family,” Cramer said. “It is actually a large town with a small-town feel. Everyone knows everyone here. There are no strangers.”
While her late parents' philanthropic legacy included establishing the Cramer Café at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, Cramer also independently supported the Karen Cramer Chapel in the Justin Tower at Texas Health Fort Worth in addition to the signature investment at Texas Health Southwest.
"I have been able to see firsthand Karen's giving spirit and her genuine desire to improve the health of this community," said Laura McWhorter, president of Texas Health Resources Foundation. "Karen's gift will not only change the lives of people in our community today but also for generations to come. This is what visionary philanthropy looks like.”
Cramer was raised at Westcliff Methodist Church in Fort Worth. She said the pastor there at that time, Jack Payne — a member of the board of Harris Methodist and Texas Wesleyan — urged Jud Cramer to become involved with both.
“My legacy won't be in the buildings,” Cramer said. “It will be in the devotion I feel for Texas Health and the entire Fort Worth community."
Construction on the tower is slated to begin in 2026.