July 26, 2021

Texas Children’s has just announced a phased, multi-year expansion plan for the Pavilion for Women that will allow us to continue providing the highest-quality care possible as one of the preeminent women’s health care destinations in the country.

“This expansion plan will not only allow us to increase our delivery volume by about 30 percent, but will also allow us have more space for specialized clinics and specific programs that will cater to women at every stage of life,” said Dr. Michael Belfort, OB/GYN-in-Chief.

Since its opening in 2012, the Pavilion has consistently fulfilled its vision to deliver exceptional care to mothers and their babies and now exceeded delivery capacity with unmatched clinical outcomes. In addition to Texas Children’s Fetal Center – a national leader in the diagnosis and treatment of abnormalities in unborn and newborn infants – the facility is home to a level IV neonatal intensive care unit.

The new expansion includes transforming the former Baylor Clinic at 6620 Main Street in the Medical Center into part of Texas Children’s campus and renaming it Main Tower, providing Texas Children’s with an additional 190,000 square feet of usable space. There will be three phases of the project, with Phase 1 expected to be completed in spring 2022 and full completion expected in 2024.

“Patients come from all across the country and the globe to access our world-renowned medical experts and the full continuum of care we offer mothers and babies,” Belfort said. “We are looking forward to increasing our capacity to offer the best care to every woman and child, from the healthiest to the sickest.”

To read more about the expansion planned for Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, click here.

May 14, 2021

On May 14, President and CEO Mark A. Wallace and Texas Children’s Hospital leaders, supporters and special guests celebrated the groundbreaking of our new hospital serving the Austin community.

Career Opportunities now available

We are excited to share with you that we currently have leadership opportunities available for our hospital in Austin. To learn more, search our internal job openings through the Careers page on Connect. Please stay tuned for more available positions as our new hospital gets under development.

A first look at our new hospital in North Austin

Texas Children’s Hospital is excited to reveal images of its freestanding hospital for children and women in Austin, offering the public a first look at this innovative, state-of-the-art facility. The hospital is also excited to share the address of its new hospital: 9835 North Lake Creek Parkway.

Set to open in Q1 2024, this $485 million project will bring a top tier children and women’s hospital to the city. Recently, the hospital made multiple public notices as construction and building plans continue toward an anticipated spring 2021 groundbreaking.

The renderings – created by design, architecture and engineering firm, Page – give a first look at the 365,000-square-foot, 52-bed hospital. To address the need for expanded pediatric, fetal and Ob/Gyn care in the Central Texas area, the hospital will include 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, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, acute care, an on-site Texas Children’s Urgent Care location and more than 1,200 free parking spaces.

Additionally, an adjacent 170,000-square-foot outpatient building will connect patients and families to Texas Children’s numerous subspecialties including cardiology, oncology, neurology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, fetal care, and dialysis, among many other subspecialties.

Texas Children’s first entry into Austin was in March 2018 with the opening of Texas Children’s Urgent Care Westgate. This location 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 10 locations 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.

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.

The new hospital 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. View our photo gallery for renderings of the hospital below. For more information, please visit www.texaschildrensaustin.org.

September 13, 2016

91416baylorbulidings2640On Monday, Texas Children’s finalized the purchase of the Baylor Clinic building at 6620 Main St. and the O’Quinn Medical Tower at 6624 Fannin St. The buildings were acquired from Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and will now be called the 6624 Fannin Medical Tower and the Baylor Medical Clinic at 6620 Main St.

“As we anticipate the future demands of our patient population and the community, finding additional space is critical,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace. “We are fortunate that two properties in the Texas Medical Center, in such close proximity to our existing facilities, became available.”

Wallace added that the purchase of the buildings is not about bricks and mortar but our mission and our ability to better serve more children, women and families who require the unique services of Texas Children’s.

“This is an investment in our mission of advancing patient care, education and research,” Wallace said. “It’s all about investing in people: our medical staff, our employees and especially in our patients and their families.”

Click here for Mark Wallace’s blog post – TMC building acquisition: Planning for the future, growing for our people

Initially, Texas Children’s will lease back a portion of each building to its current tenants until CHI St. Luke’s Health and Baylor College of Medicine relocate to Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center’s 27.5-acre McNair Campus. Texas Children’s Director of Real Estate Services David Perryman will provide oversight of third-party property management firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to operate the buildings until the leases expire and tenants relocate.

Meanwhile, a facilities master planning initiative is underway to integrate these two properties into Texas Children’s overall expansion and growth plans for pediatric and women’s services. Texas Children’s does not intend to actively market or lease existing or future vacancies.

“The purchase of these two buildings will help us connect our services even more so than they already are,” said Jill Pearsall, assistant vice president of Facility Planning and Development. “It also will offer a tremendous amount of support to our staff and physicians, and it will ultimately improve not only patient care but the quality of our patients’ experience when they seek our services.”

The Baylor Clinic Building was built in 2003, has 15 stories – 10 of which are parking – and comprises 227,670 square feet of rentable area. The O’Quinn Medical Tower was built in 1991, has 27 stories – six of which are parking – and provides 445,725 square feet of office and clinical space.

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Weldon Gage said Texas Children’s purchased the properties with money from the organization’s cash reserves, which are set aside specifically for capital expenditures and are separate from the hospital’s operating budget.

“This purchase is a perfect example of why we need to have significant cash on hand,” Gage said. “In doing so, we are able to take advantage of opportunities such as these that will further our mission.”

Below are additional details about the purchase, the buildings and how they will be used.

What is the short-term plan for both locations?
We will continue to lease space to the current tenants. Our facilities master planning also will help determine how these two properties can be used to support our overall growth of pediatric and women’s services.

Who will manage the leases?
Texas Children’s Director of Real Estate Services David Perryman will provide oversight of a third-party property management firm, JLL, to operate these buildings.

How long will we lease the space to the current tenants?
We will honor the leases of current tenants and determine future plans as part of our facilities master planning. We do not intend to actively market or lease existing or future vacancies.

Did we know these buildings would be available prior to beginning construction on Pediatric Tower E?
No, we did not. However, we are fortunate that two properties so close to our existing facilities became available, as they will help us address the growth of pediatric and women’s services we anticipate in the future.

What will backfill the relocated locations?
Our facilities master planning is underway to determine how these two properties will help us meet our overall growth of pediatric and women’s services. As this plan is finalized, we will be determining how vacated areas will be backfilled.

Will the buildings be renamed?
Eventually the buildings will be renamed, subject to any naming rights or restrictions transferred with the sale. We also want to be respectful of existing tenants and their patients who know the buildings by their current names. That is why the buildings initially will be called the 6624 Fannin Medical Tower and the 6620 Baylor Medical Clinic.

Are any improvements planned for the building?
We are developing short-term and long-term capital plans to help ensure an efficient, reliable and comfortable environment for our employees, tenants and the public.

November 18, 2014

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On Thursday, Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace shared exciting news: Texas Children’s Board of Trustees has enthusiastically approved our plans for CareFirst.

Wallace and the leadership team launched CareFirst in January to reinvest in the programs our most critically ill patients need – primarily in the Critical Care units, operating rooms, Heart Center, Emergency Center and many of our Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services.

“These programs are at the core of our mission to create a healthier future for children throughout our broad community,” Wallace said.

The CareFirst plan includes adding 19 floors to the existing building base next to Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. For now, this new tower is named “Pediatric Tower E.” The 25-floor tower is slated to come online in 2018 and will house a 130-bed intensive care unit, new operating rooms with the latest technology and Texas Children’s Heart Center, including the cardiovascular operating rooms and the cardiovascular intensive care unit. The CareFirst plan also includes renovation of the Emergency Center and other areas in the West Tower that will become available once Pediatric Tower E is completed. Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services will be located throughout the new spaces so that care can be delivered close to where patients are.

“This is cause for celebration,” Wallace said. “A considerable number of people, including board members, medical staff, managers and employees, have invested countless hours in this work, and together, we conducted a comprehensive study of our challenges, needs and aspirations, and a thorough assessment of the most effective solutions. The result is CareFirst.”

The expansion of the hospital’s facilities and programs in the Texas Medical Center will create access and allow us to provide the best quality care for the children who need us the most.

“CareFirst will ensure the best possible outcomes for some of the nation’s sickest children,” Wallace said. “And it will help us deliver on our promise to make Texas Children’s the best possible place to give and receive care.”