AUSTIN – The University of Texas System Board of Regents on Nov. 19 approved design development plans for the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital to be constructed on 12.2 acres of land in the South Texas Medical Center. The Board of Regents authorized expenditure of $398.8 million for the hospital from Revenue Financing System Bond Proceeds, Permanent University Fund Bond Proceeds, and gifts. With the addition of sundry items needed for hospital operations, the project total is at least $430 million. Primarily dedicated to cancer services, the eight-story, 144-bed hospital, to be located at the corner of Floyd Curl Drive and Wurzbach Road, will also accommodate specialties including neurosciences, orthopaedics, urology, thoracic surgery and bariatrics. The hospital will add 100 medical residents and fellows and 800 high-quality jobs for the city, and will offer advanced treatments through team-based care grounded in the latest medical research. UT Health San Antonio will bring the expertise of 1,000 faculty specialists and subspecialists to serve patients and their families. Patient care will be coordinated within a single, secure electronic medical record available anywhere 24/7.

William Henrich
William L. Henrich, MD, MACP

“We are forging a future in which no patient will ever have to leave San Antonio to receive the most advanced, precision-based care,” said William L. Henrich, MD, MACP, president of UT Health San Antonio. “Therapeutic offerings in the new hospital will redefine medicine by focusing on predicting, preventing and curing disease precisely.”

Early phase clinical trials, including immunologic and stem cell therapies for cancer, will be a signature offering in the hospital. Some of the leading-edge therapies will originate from discoveries made in laboratories at UT Health San Antonio.

“Given our stature as the UT System’s flagship academic health center of South Texas, our unique mission blends medical education, research and patient care,” Dr. Henrich said. “Our patient-centered hospital will deliver the most advanced care possible because of our cutting-edge, internationally renowned research in complex diseases.”

The hospital will be connected by a sky bridge to the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson. The National Cancer Institute this year renewed its designation of the Mays Cancer Center as one of the elite cancer centers in the nation and one of only four NCI-designated Cancer Centers in Texas.

UT Health San Antonio is working with University Health System (now referred to as University Health) to develop a top-tier integrated health delivery system to improve care throughout Bexar County. The new hospital complements University Health’s plans and will be highly complementary to existing programs at University Hospital, avoiding duplication of services. University Hospital, which is part of University Health, will continue to be the site of delivery for many leading regional programs, including trauma surgery, organ transplantation, and women’s and children’s services.

In November 2019, the Board of Regents approved $80 million in Permanent University Fund Bond Proceeds for the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital. The hospital is included in the UT System’s Capital Improvement Program.

The hospital design is 413,502 gross square feet and includes a 650-space parking garage. EYP has been contracted to perform the architectural and engineering services, and the construction manager-at-risk is Vaughn Construction.

Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2021 and be completed in 2024.

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The Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is named for Texas philanthropists Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long. The school is the largest educator of physicians in South Texas, many of whom remain in San Antonio and the region to practice medicine. The school teaches more than 900 students and trains 800 residents each year. As a beacon of multicultural sensitivity, the school annually exceeds the national medical school average of Hispanic students enrolled. The school’s clinical practice is the largest multidisciplinary medical group in South Texas with 850 physicians in more than 100 specialties. The school has a highly productive research enterprise where world leaders in Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cancer, aging, heart disease, kidney disease and many other fields are translating molecular discoveries into new therapies. The Long School of Medicine is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center known for prolific clinical trials and drug development programs, as well as a world-renowned center for aging and related diseases.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, also referred to as UT Health San Antonio, is one of the country’s leading health sciences universities and is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. With missions of teaching, research, patient care and community engagement, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have graduated more than 37,000 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields, and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.