Local dignitaries gathered Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony for University Health Retama Hospital, scheduled to open in 2027.
The 42-acre public health facility at Retama Parkway and Lookout Road will open with 166 beds and can expand to up to 286 beds. Services include a 24/7 emergency department, labor and delivery department. NICU, operating rooms, radiology, pharmacy, laboratory services, and state-of-the-art technology.
Bexar District 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert, who represents that part of the county, said when he first took office more than eight years ago, he believed the area was underserved by University Health System. He said it was a great day to be able to see this groundbreaking initiative in action. It will be done.
“When I came to college, I realized that University Health System clinics and hospitals were 11 to 14 miles away, and yet people had been paying University Health System taxes forever. ,” Calvert said. “And I said, in fairness, we need to at least provide a clinic or a hospital for people in this area.”
University Health System recently changed its name to simply University Health.
Calvert said the I-35 corridor where the new hospital will be built is among the top five fastest-growing regions in the United States and is the region's sixth-largest employer. He said Randolph Air Force Base is nearby.
Calvert said land prices near Retama Park, a racetrack, also make the location favorable for the hospital.
He expected the hospital to rapidly expand to accommodate growth, up to 286 beds, and serve as a regional facility.
Dr. Deanna Burns Banks, a member of the Bexar County Hospital Board of Management, said the new hospital will mean residents of Far East and northern Bexar County will no longer have to travel to the Northwest Side Medical Center for treatment. Public health hospital.
“Most people in this community do not have to travel outside of this community to receive services,” she added.
University officials say the hospital will include a clinic and create up to 600 jobs.
Just last month, UH broke ground on an identical hospital near Texas A&M San Antonio to serve the Southside.
