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On November 2, 2019, a line of children and mothers drove the first ceremonial shovels into the sand as the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio raised their voices in celebration of the construction of a new hospital — the only one in South Texas dedicated exclusively to women, children and babies.
On track to open in early 2023 on the University Hospital campus, the Women’s and Children’s Hospital is designed to meet the needs of a fast-growing South Texas population. The warm, welcoming and state-of-the-art facility will include 12 stories, a half-million square feet, 300 inpatient rooms and an attached 900-space parking garage for patients and visitors.
“The women, babies and children who will come through the doors of this hospital will have unique needs and challenges, and we will be there to meet them with compassion and kindness,” said University Health President and CEO George B. Hernández, Jr. to the crowd of several hundred gathered on the cool Saturday morning. “University Health’s status as an academic health center strengthens this promise on multiple levels, and we are very proud of our partnership with the UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine.”
“This project is the next phase of our 2008 Capital Improvement Program,” said James Adams, chairman of the Bexar County Hospital District Board of Managers. “Unlike many other public hospital districts in Texas, the percent of our budget coming from local property taxes is shrinking … Today, we are not only breaking ground on a state-of-the-art women’s and children’s hospital, we are doing it with no tax rate increase.”
As the only locally owned health system in the area, University Health fulfills a unique mission to improve the good health of the community and serve the advanced care needs of the entire region. The new hospital will be integral to University Health’s network of care, ensuring patients have access to the highest quality care close to home.