Writer: Jerrica DuBois
2 min read November 2021 — Access to quality, affordable healthcare is a problem that is not uncommon for most metropolitan areas. In a place like San Antonio, where growth is exploding with the influx of new residents, the efforts to find solutions to this challenge have resulted in development plans for several new healthcare facilities.
Baptist Health System recently announced that it had purchased land in the City of Boerne with the intention of building a hospital campus that will include an acute care hospital equipped with outpatient services, imaging and other diagnostic services, as well as a medical office building for physician practices and other ancillary healthcare services.
“The Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corporation is pleased to continue to work with the Baptist Health System team to bring Boerne its first hospital,” Amy Story, president and CEO of the Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corporation, said in a press release. “This project represents a significant addition to the quality of life for the residents of Kendall County.”
This development will have a direct initial investment of over $50 million, which does not include the costs of construction of the planned medical office building. The hospital is expected to be completed by late 2023 or early 2024.
“Our residents have asked for additional medical facilities for years,” Boerne Mayor Tim Handre said in a press release, “And we are excited to work with the hospital system as they embark on the process to make this much anticipated addition to our community.”
In March 2021, the South Texas Medical Center broke ground on a 144-bed hospital. The University of Texas Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital will be eight floors and has an estimated $430 million price tag. It is also expected to employ close to 800 people and create over 100 residency openings for medical students.
Slated to be a center for research, cancer treatment and other complex diseases that impact South Texans, the project is expected to be completed in 2024. The public can even follow the construction process on their website with updated tours.
Also looking to expand is University Health. In Sept. 2021, the organization announced plans to purchase a large tract of land on the South Side for a new hospital. The Bexar County Hospital District board of managers approved $10.4 million to expand into an area that has previously been underserved.
Local acute care hospitals are able to provide patients access to much needed services, and as the region works to safely manage and provide healthcare for the increasing population, streamlining these services becomes even more of a priority.
