St. David's HealthCare $275 Million Capital Investment Includes New North Austin Hospital

NORTH AUSTIN, TX -- St. David's HealthCare officials announced a two-year, $275 million capital investment in Central Texas Healthcare that involves acquisition of the Forest Park hospital in North Austin.

"This newly constructed facility, originally built by a developer, was designed as a specialty surgery hospital," officials explained. "The 8.5-acre property includes a 146,381-square-foot hospital and an adjacent 80,000-square-foot medical office building."
Plans also call for a 500-space parking garage at the North Austin site. The hospital will feature 40 patient rooms, including 12 VIP rooms; 10 operating rooms; six-bed intensive care unit (ICU); and an emergency department, in addition to other hospital, clinical and support functions.

The opening of the hospital is expected to create approximately 130 new full-time positions, with that number expected to increase to more than 150 in the first five years of operation, hospital officials added.

"St. David’s HealthCare intends to operate the facility, which will be a campus of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center, as a specialty surgery hospital," company officials said in a press advisory. "St. David’s HealthCare will operationalize plans for the facility over the next few months and will announce details on the facility opening in the near future."

"The investments include the acquisition and equipping of a newly constructed hospital in North Austin for $135 million, an initial $20-million investment for the development of a new hospital in Leander, a $70-million expansion at St. David’s Medical Center and a $50-million expansion at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center," officials said in a press advisory.

The expansion also includes Leander, where the health care company purchased 50 ares of land to build an emergency medical facility, with plans for a full-service hospital at the site, officials said..

Healthcare company officials confirmed the company acquired 52 acres of Leander land to build the emergency facility by next year toward the goal of constructing a full-fledged hospital by next year. The new facilities will be located on San Gabriel Parkway between U.S. 183 and Toll Road 183A, officials confirmed.

“This acquisition of a new hospital in the northern region of the market, development of the new Leander facility and significant expansions at two of our largest hospitals, mark another milestone in an unprecedented era of growth for St. David’s HealthCare,” David Huffstutler, president and chief executive officer of St. David’s HealthCare, said. “As this region experiences rapid growth and as St. David’s HealthCare develops additional programs and services, we are committed to expanding our network so that we may continue to meet the needs of the community with the highest quality care.”

Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the expansion was key in accommodating brisk population growth in Central Texas.

“The St. David's HealthCare announcement of a $275-million capital investment in Central Texas is important on a number of levels. With 60,000 people moving to Austin each year, we must constantly expand our healthcare infrastructure to keep up,” Adler said. “However, capacity alone is not the answer, which is why St. David's is so vital to this region—it brings top-quality healthcare to the Austin area and helps us maintain our position as America's best place to live."

Austin Chamber officials lauded the move, pointing to the critical importance access to health care has to residents in the region.

“The Austin business community applauds this extraordinarily significant announcement,” Tony Budet, president and CEO of the University Federal Credit Union and current chair of the Austin Chamber, said. “Access to top-quality healthcare is essential to the long-term sustainability of our entire region. We commend St. David's HealthCare for making an investment of this magnitude, especially one that benefits all corners of our community.”

South Austin wasn't left out of the capital investments mix either. At St. David's South Austin Medical Center, officials plan a $50 million capital expansion project, with expected completion next year.

"With programmatic growth in areas such as oncology and trauma at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center as well as the organic growth in the south of the market, St. David’s HealthCare is investing $50-million in a capital expansion project at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, which includes the hospital’s emergency department and patient care room capacity," hospital officials said.

Currently, St. David’s South Austin Medical Center’s emergency department (ED) is the largest-volume ED in Central Texas, serving approximately 110,000 patients per year, according to company officials.

"To accommodate this volume, the hospital will increase the size of the emergency department by nearly 14,000 square feet, including the addition of 16 beds and the expansion of other support functions in the emergency services area."

Additionally, St. David’s South Austin Medical Center will add 26,000 square feet, including a new 34-bed medical/surgical unit, to be developed as an additional floor on top of the hospital’s South Tower, hospital officials noted. Fifty new full-time employees will be added in the first year to support the increased services resulting from this expansion, they said.

That level of hiring is expected to double within five years.

Officials added that the $275-million investment will be paid with funds from St. David’s HealthCare operations. No debt would be issued to finance the expansion, nor will philanthropic dollars be utilized to help pay for the growth plans.