Texas Children's To Build Hospital In Austin

AUSTIN, TX — Texas Children's on Wednesday unveiled plans to build a pediatric and women's and women's hospital in Austin — the first full-fledged hospital outside the Houston area for the elite insitutution.

Plans call for a 48-bed, 360,000-square-foot hospital in North Austin by late 2023. The $450 million hospital is the culmination of years of planning before the market entry into Austin, officials said.

"We opened in 1954 with one small 106-bed hospital in Houston, but we’ve grown to become the largest children’s hospital in America and the #3 ranked pediatric hospital in the nation," Texas Children's officials wrote on their website. "Through it all, we’ve been guided by one mission — to create a healthier future for the women and children of Texas. And that’s exactly why we’re investing $450 million to build a new top-tier tier children and women’s hospital right here in Austin. Because a city that’s helping to move the world forward deserves the most advanced pediatric and women’s care."

Hospital officials had telegraphed their plans to enter the market in 2019 when they disclosed the purchase of two plotso f land in Austin — Presidio to the northa and Estancia to the south. "This additional investment into the Austin community is yet another example of Texas Children’s commitment to expand their expert pediatric and maternal care to more conveniently serve the families of central Texas," officials wrote in a Dec. 10, 2019, advisory.

The plans to enter the Austin market date to 2017, as the head of the hospital explained at the time: “In June 2017, Texas Children’s first announced plans to extend our brand of pediatric and maternal care to the Austin community,” Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace said. “Eighteen months later, we have 62 employees and 23 physicians in Austin helping to deliver on our mission and intention of caring for the children and families in need of the expert care we provide, closer to home.”

However, even at the time, officials were mum on plans: "Texas Children’s is constantly exploring options and assessing the needs of children and women in the community to help fill gaps in care where they exist," officials wrote then. "Currently, there are no confirmed plans for the use of this land."

Michelle Riley-Brown, executive vice president of Texas Children's added: “We know Austin continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, and our goal is to help supplement and add value to the great health care options already available to Austin-area families."

And yet, the planned hospital won't be the first Texas Children's presence in Austin. The organization’s first health care location in Austin, Texas Children’s Urgent Care Westgate, opened in March 2018 and provides high-quality, efficient and affordable pediatric-focused care after hours and on weekends. Located at 4477 South Lamar Blvd., suite 400, Texas Children’s Urgent Care is staffed by board-certified pediatricians and nurses, with facilities and equipment designed specifically to meet the needs of children and adolescents up to age 18.

Additionally, Texas Children's Pediatrics, the nation’s largest pediatric primary care network, currently has five practices in Austin which provide full-service care for children including, among other offerings, prenatal counseling; newborn and infant care; well and sick child visits; immunizations; and hearing and vision screenings; as well as camp, school and sports physicals.

Building upon its 20-plus years of experience working with community pediatricians, Texas Children’s Pediatrics continues to partner with existing pediatric primary care practices in the region.Currently, Texas Children’s Pediatrics locations in Austin include:

• • TCP Austin Pediatrics at 5625 Eiger Road, Ste. 225
• • TCP Pediatric Partners of Austin at 3410 Far West Blvd, Ste. 130
• • TCP Longhorn Pediatrics at 2911 Medical Arts Street, Ste. 20
• • TCP Dawson and Ramirez at 1111 W. 34th Street, Ste. 102
• • TCP JoAnne Wise Edoka, MD at 2911 Medical Arts Square, Ste. 7

In October 2018, Texas Children’s Specialty Care Austin opened bringing the hospital’s own subspecialty pediatric care to the Austin community. Located at 8611 North MoPac, suite 300, Texas Children’s Specialty Care helps increase access for children and families in need of allergy and immunology, cardiology, clinical nutrition, diabetes and endocrinology, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, and pulmonology, among other subspecialties. Additional pediatric subspecialties will be added in the coming months to help serve the growing needs of the Austin community and the state of Texas.

Visit texaschildrensaustin.org to learn more.