SAN MARCOS, TX – On Friday, January 18, 2008, Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) officials announced a $35 million expansion and renovation project at the Wonder World Drive campus that will include a new Childbirth Center, a Level II Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU), a new cardiac telemetry inpatient nursing unit, and an expansion/improvement of the facility’s surgical suite.
At just over 64,000 square feet, the 2-story addition will result in a Childbirth Center with all private rooms, featuring a 22-bed obstetric unit; a 7-bed labor/delivery/recovery unit; a 15-bassinet nursery; a 6-bassinet Level II NCCU; and a specially designated Cesarean-Section room, all of which will be located on the first floor. The second floor of the new addition will feature a medical unit with 36 private beds and state-of-the-art cardiac monitoring capabilities.
Plans also include expansion and renovation of the hospital’s current surgical unit that will expand the number of operating rooms from four to six, with space for a seventh room in the future. The project is expected to create at least 50 new jobs at the facility and increase the number of licensed beds from 113 to 121, with the potential of expanding up to 157 in the future.
At a press conference in the hospital’s main lobby, the news was met with broad support from the various hospital and community leaders present.
“With nearly 1,200 births at the hospital last year alone, it is clear we need to expand to meet the needs of our growing community,” said Gary Jepson, CTMC President & CEO. “We’re thrilled that our Adventist Health System leaders saw the need and were willing to make this major investment in our hospital and community,” he added.
The project allows Jepson to continue the transformation of the CTMC experience. Since his arrival in 2001, Jepson has led several smaller expansions, service enhancements and technological advances. These include the conversion to an electronic medical records system, the opening of the new CTMC Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Institute, and the renovation/expansion of the Emergency Room waiting area. A recently completed renovation to the hospital’s main lobby resulted in the addition of Mochas & Javas internet café and new kiosk-based registration and way-finding services for patients and visitors.
“As a former CEO of this institution and current chairman of its board, it gives me great pleasure to see Adventist Health System making such a large financial commitment in support of San Marcos and the surrounding communities. It’s a testament to Gary’s leadership,” said Pete Weber, President/CEO of the Southwest Region of Adventist Health System. “The improvements in service and access that this $35 million investment will make ensure that our mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ will be advanced for years to come,” he added.
Current projections call for construction of the new addition, which will be located behind the Professional Office Building on the hospital’s main campus, to begin in mid-2008 and be completed in early 2010.