University Health is set to open a multi-specialty clinic by the end of 2025 and a new hospital by early 2027.
The groundbreaking for Palo Alto Hospital was Jan. 18, 2024. The hospital will provide improved medical services and community resources to the heart of the Southside in San Antonio.
The new hospital and clinic are at the intersection of South Zarzamora Street and Jaguar Parkway near Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
Palo Alto Hospital will be a full-service hospital for children and adults, providing emergency care, labor and delivery including a neonatal ICU, and other medical needs.
Patients will not have to worry about the insurance they have or do not have; the new hospital will see all patients.
“We take all kinds of insurance,” said Elizabeth Allen, director of external communication for University Health. “We also take underinsured and uninsured patients. Whether you have great private insurance or no coverage at all, you’ll get the care you need.”
The hospital — which sits on 68 acres of land and is 500,000 square feet — will be five stories with the possibility of adding two additional floors.
A medical office is an additional building alongside the specialty clinic and hospital. This building will be a five-story, 100,000-square-foot building on the 68-acre site.
The medical office is an opportunity for physicians in the community to open their own office in either University Health building.
Allen said it was designed to bring community partners together in one building to provide resources and information to the community.
Located near A&M-San Antonio and Palo Alto College, the hospital and clinic aims to strengthen education pipelines for future healthcare professionals.
“With the hospital we have partners with public health to move our genomics group over there, and work together to talk about diabetes in the Mexican-American communities,” said Nate Gonzales, public health research assistant at A&M-San Antonio. “We have open research opportunities, and I think it’s going to be really helpful for health education and outreach.”
“This creates opportunities for students from the Southside to learn about healthcare and potentially stay in the community to provide care,” Allen said
In addition to the hospital and the medical office, the campus will include VIDA, a multi-specialty clinic set to open by the end of 2025.
“Having all these resources in one place will be a game-changer for the Southside,” Allen said.
The 60,000-square-foot, three-story facility will address public health priorities and connect patients with essential resources.
The new clinic will also serve as the headquarters for the University Health Institute for Public Health. In 2020, during the pandemic, University Health was involved with a lot of public health work, which led to the idea of putting all that work into one building.
“We know those are important parts of people staying healthy,” Allen explained. “If somebody visits the doctor and mentions difficulties affording healthy food, we can connect them with a local food pantry or provide nutritional guidance from our dietitians.”
The VIDA clinic will be a space dedicated to mental health services and social services. Anyone in the community who feels that they need help will be directed to the right contacts and be given information on resources for challenges such as food insecurity or transportation issues.
The total cost to build Palo Alto Hospital, the VIDA clinic and the medical office is $825 million.
For more information, visit University Health’s official website.
https://www.universityhealth.com/news/university-health-breaks-ground-for-south-side-hospital
Victoria Arredondo contributed to this story.
