TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL REACHES MAJOR MILESTONE IN EXPANDING SERVICE WITHIN THE CENTRAL TEXAS MARKET

HOUSTON, May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Children's Hospital recently celebrated the topping out of the Texas Children's Hospital North Austin Campus, which will house pediatric care and women's health services under one state-of-the-art roof to better serve patients and their families in the Austin and Central Texas areas. To observe this important construction milestone, Texas Children's President & CEO Mark A. Wallace and Executive Vice President Michelle Riley-Brown, along with multiple physicians and Austin-area Texas Children's patients and their families, gathered with representatives from McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., Page Southerland Page Inc., and Transwestern to complete a traditional tree hoisting in honor of the new facility.

"It has been a longtime goal of mine to continue the vision of our founders and bring Texas Children's Hospital's high quality level of care to families throughout Texas," said Wallace. "Over the last few years, it has been amazing to see Texas Children's grow in Central Texas and I could not be more proud and excited to celebrate this important milestone in the completion of our Austin facility, along with my colleagues at Texas Children's and everyone at McCarthy, Page and Transwestern, without whom, none of this would have been possible."

Providing breadth and depth of services to the Austin area, the 365,000-square-foot main hospital offerings will include but not be limited to the following:

• Neonatal intensive care
• Pediatric intensive care
• Operating rooms
• Epilepsy monitoring
• Sleep center
• Emergency center
• Fetal center for advanced fetal interventions and fetal surgery with a special high-risk delivery unit
• Heart center
• Cardiovascular intensive care
• Renal dialysis
• State-of-the-art diagnostic imaging
• Acute care
• On-site Texas Children's Urgent Care location.

The adjacent 170,000-square-foot outpatient facility will provide added value by directly connecting patients and their families to Texas Children's numerous subspecialties, including cardiology, oncology, neurology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, fetal care, dialysis, and more. "Our expanded footprint in Central Texas means more mothers and babies will have access to our top-tier, specialized care and world-renowned team," said Dr. Michael Belfort, OB/GYN-in-Chief at Texas Children's Pavilion for Women and Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine. "The Texas Children's Fetal Center is known across the globe as the go-to place for high-risk pregnancies, and we are thrilled to offer more families access to the nation's leading team for the diagnosis and treatment of fetal abnormalities closer to their home in Austin." 

"We are so happy to be able to offer our services to the children, women and families of Austin," said Dr. Larry H. Hollier Jr., Surgeon-in-Chief at Texas Children's and Professor of Plastic Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery and Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. "At Texas Children's Hospital, we are committed to bringing high-quality care for the most complex conditions close to home."

"Texas Children's Hospital is no stranger to Austin with primary, specialty and urgent care services already well established there," said Dr. Lara S. Shekerdemian, Pediatrician-in-Chief at Texas Children's and Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. "Currently, several of our Austin and Central Texas patients and families also travel to Houston for some aspects of their care, but when our amazing new hospital opens in 2024 — our patients and families will have all of the very best care and subspecialty inpatient services in their own back yard."

"As capitol of our great state and a leading technology hub, it seems only fitting that the nation's largest children's hospital, Texas Children's can now call Austin home," said Dr. Jeffrey Shilt, Community-in-Chief at Texas Children's and Professor of Orthopedics and Scoliosis Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. "Our mission that originated in the Texas Medical Center in Houston remains the same in Austin: to create a healthier future for children and women by leading in patient care, education and research. I could not be more excited about building on our promise to deliver the highest quality of care, close to home for the families of Austin, which will include additional programs of excellence that provide even more choices for care in the region."

To provide a connected sense of care to patients, Texas Children's convened multiple community-centered focus and advisory groups to assess best practices for the region. "Expanding access to our expert pediatric and maternal care to even more families in Texas is an extension of our mission," said Riley-Brown. "We are excited to bring the unparalleled level of care that Texas Children's is known for to the families of Austin and look forward to opening our doors in 2024."

While staying true to the traditional Texas Children's look and feel, the new Texas Children's Hospital North Austin Campus simultaneously will weave the unique culture and geography of Austin and the Central Texas hill country into the facility. An outdoor therapy space will serve as a respite for patients, families and employees, and each floor of the new hospital will display a different theme based on Central Texas landscapes. In developing the building, Texas Children's targeted a sustainability rating of two stars in the Austin Energy Green Building Program, worked to conserve condensate water for irrigation, and preserved approximately 40% of the existing trees on the property.   

"The thoughtful design and layout of the new hospital will enhance productivity and efficiency by streamlining the location of core services, while also celebrating the natural landscape to educate, inspire and promote healing," said Jill Pearsall, Senior Vice President of Facilities Planning and Development at Texas Children's.

Texas Children's Hospital North Austin Campus, located at 9835 North Lake Creek Parkway, will begin serving patients in the first quarter of 2024.

ABOUT TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
Texas Children's Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children's hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children's has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women's health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children's Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children's care for communities north of Houston. The organization also created Texas Children's Health Plan, the nation's first HMO for children; has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country, Texas Children's Pediatrics; Texas Children's Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that's channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children's Global Health program leads efforts that advance health care equity through innovative collaboration in care, education and research for underserved populations globally. Texas Children's Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go towww.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.

SOURCE Texas Children's Hospital