University Allocates $90M to Expand South Side and Northeast Hospitals Ahead of New Openings

Expansion Plans for University Health Hospitals

University Health, a key healthcare provider in San Antonio, has been planning the construction of two new hospitals on the South Side and the far Northeast Side. With an additional $90 million in funding, these facilities are now set to expand even before their official openings.

The Bexar County Hospital District Board of Managers, which oversees University Health, approved using $60.7 million from a projected construction budget surplus and $30 million from the hospital’s reserve funds. This funding will be used to add more patient beds and exam rooms at the University Health Palo Alto and University Health Retama campuses.

According to University Health President and CEO Edward Banos, the decision was made after analyzing expected patient care volumes and considering continued population growth in both areas. The city of San Antonio’s Strategic Framework Plan predicts that Bexar County’s population will grow by 1.1 million people by 2040.

Both hospitals were designed using a “Lego concept,” allowing for easy expansion over time. Banos emphasized that expanding now instead of later will save time and money while ensuring high-quality care from day one and into the future.

Expansions at the Palo Alto Campus

The larger of the two expansions is at the Palo Alto campus on the South Side. This includes finishing out 60 additional inpatient rooms, bringing the total to 227 beds. Additionally, 16 more exam rooms will be added to the medical office building. The budget covers all construction costs, as well as medical equipment, furniture, and advanced technology like patient monitoring and data storage systems.

This expansion aims to address the lack of healthcare services on the South Side. A 2022 investigation by the San Antonio Express-News revealed that medical facilities are concentrated in the northern parts of the city, where patients are generally healthier and wealthier. In contrast, residents on the South Side have limited access to hospitals, medical specialists, and surgical centers.

Most emergency care facilities, including full-service trauma hospitals and freestanding emergency centers, are located on the North Side. Texas Vista Medical Center, one of only two hospitals serving the South Side, closed in 2023, leaving Mission Trail Baptist Hospital as the sole full-service facility. Baptist Health System operates a micro-hospital, Baptist Neighborhood Hospital-Zarzamora, in the area.

Expansions at the Retama Campus

On the far Northeast Side, University Health will add 20 inpatient rooms to its Retama hospital, increasing the total to 167 beds. The adjacent medical office building will also gain eight more exam rooms. The hospital is being built near the Retama Park horse racetrack in Selma, within the booming Interstate 35 corridor between San Antonio and New Braunfels.

Currently, there are two full-service hospitals in the area: Methodist Hospital Northeast in Live Oak and Northeast Baptist Hospital on Airport Boulevard.

Neither expansion is expected to delay the opening dates. The Retama hospital is scheduled to open in February 2027, and the Palo Alto hospital is set to open in April of the same year. However, the additional work will not be completed until 2028.

Design and Flexibility

Tiffany Long, partner at Marmon Mok Architecture, who is working on the University Health projects with ESa Architects, said both hospitals were designed with the same layout to allow for flexibility and future growth. This design will also make it more efficient for staff who may need to travel between the hospitals, as they will already be familiar with the layout of the departments.

She added that the hospitals were designed to be expanded both horizontally and vertically.

Additional Developments

In addition to building the two hospitals, the hospital system has added Christus Health’s former Santa Rosa hospital at the South Texas Medical Center to its portfolio. It purchased the hospital last year in a $71 million deal that the hospital district said would allow it to provide care to more patients.

University Health receives more than 10,000 inquiries annually about transferring patients to its facilities, but can accept only about 53% of those because it doesn’t have enough beds. Moving some patients to the former Christus facility would free up space for those who need a higher level of care at University Hospital, Banos said previously.

Madison Iszler contributed to this report.