Dell Children’s to invest over $300M to expand pediatric care

Dell Children’s Medical Center is excited to announce plans to invest more than $300 million in capital, equipment and programming to expand pediatric services on the hospital’s Mueller campus over the next three years. The investment will include the development of a new pediatric outpatient facility for complex care and expansions to the existing hospital. This expansion is made possible through a substantial investment from Ascension, and a $30 million matching grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to help ensure that all children can be treated at home in Central Texas. Dell Children’s is part of Ascension Texas, which includes 13 hospitals and more than 100 clinic locations across Central Texas.

“The time is now to continue expanding complex pediatric care in Central Texas — since 2009, more than 5,500 Central Texas children had to leave home to receive complex care, mostly for services in cardiovascular surgery, neurosciences, and oncology/hematology,” said Christopher M. Born, president of Dell Children’s Medical Center. “As the only free-standing pediatric teaching hospital and Level I Trauma center in Central Texas, families rely on Dell Children’s to care for their children, especially those with the most complex cases. Our care must continue to meet the needs of our growing city. In partnership with Dell Medical School, we remain committed to building world-class, nationally ranked care in Central Texas.”

The new pediatric outpatient facility will be located on Dell Children’s campus adjacent to the existing hospital and will be called the Dell Children’s Specialty Pavilion. In partnership with Dell Medical School at the University of Texas, Dell Children’s is developing a maternal fetal medicine program within the hospital, which will include the addition of a delivery unit and NICU expansion. Additionally, Dell Children’s will have capacity for more cardiac ICU beds, allowing the pediatric heart team to perform more surgeries and expand the program to include heart transplants in the near future.

“Dell Children’s is already a state-of-the-art children’s hospital, and the tremendous work of the doctors, nurses, and staff has created an environment where families feel safe and well cared for,” said Susan Dell, co-founder and board chair of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. “We are excited to be part of this next phase, making Dell Children’s a destination for the very highest level of pediatric health care in Central Texas and beyond.”

This commitment from the Dell Foundation is the newest and largest investment in pediatric health care at Dell Children’s Medical Center and will be structured as a match through the HERE campaign. Dell Children’s Medical Center opened in 2007 with a $25 million philanthropic gift from the Dell Foundation, at which time Susan Dell began serving on the board as a life trustee. In 2011, the Dell Foundation worked with Dell Children’s to meet the growing demand for overnight hospital stays by adding a third tower that added more than 72 beds and 53,000 square feet. In 2015, the Dell Foundation partnered with Ascension Seton to build Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas — the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and safety net hospital. These grants, along with additional investments at the University of Texas at Austin in the Dell Pediatric Research Institute in 2006 and Dell Medical School in 2013, are helping to build the pediatric ecosystem needed to build world class care in Central Texas.

Dell Children’s Foundation, with the generous support of community donors, is spearheading the HERE campaign to raise vital funds to support the growth at Dell Children’s, including the new Specialty Pavilion. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation’s $30 million matching grant for the advancement of pediatric care is part of its commitment to creating a cutting-edge medical community in Central Texas.

The new outpatient facility will house world-class cardiovascular, neurosciences, and cancer programs to care for Central Texas children and families close to home. The project will cost more than $113 million and includes a four-story, state-of-the-art pediatric outpatient facility totaling more than 161,000 square feet. It is expected to open in spring 2021.

To learn more about the Dell Children’s HERE campaign or make a donation, visit SupportDellChildrens.org/HERE.

About Ascension Texas
In Texas, Ascension operates Providence Healthcare Network and Seton Healthcare Family, which includes Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, the region’s only comprehensive children’s hospital and pediatric Level I trauma center, and Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, the region’s only Level I trauma center for adults. Seton partners with Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and shares a common vision of transforming healthcare through a focus on quality and value. Serving Texas for 115 years, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension is one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., operating 2,600 sites of care – including 150 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities – in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Visit www.ascension.org and www.dellchildrens.net.

About The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (www.msdf.org) is dedicated to improving the lives of children living in urban poverty across the world. Headquartered in Austin, TX with additional offices in New Delhi, India, and Cape Town, South Africa, the Dell Foundation funds programs that foster high-quality public education and childhood wellness and improve the economic stability of families living in poverty. The foundation has committed more than $1.7 billion to global children's issues and community initiatives to date.