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Cover Feature University Health System: Redefining Health Care in Downtown San Antonio UniversiTy healTh sysTem rings in The new year wiTh a new era of healTh care in downTown san anTonio. S iNCe THe CiTY���S first public hos- pital opened downtown in 1917, San Antonians have received quality medical care in a central location that would later become the Robert B. Green Campus. Renovations in 1968 transformed the hospital into an outpatient facility on the historic campus, allowing University Health System to move its inpatient teaching hospital ��� University Hospital ��� to northwestern San Antonio, adjacent to what was then the University of Texas (UT) Medical School, now UT Health Science Center San Antonio. In 2008, to address increased demands for stateof-the-art outpatient care downtown, planning for an $899 million renovation and upgrade of the Robert B. Green Campus and University Hospital began in earnest. Just three years since breaking ground, University Health System is poised to redefine health care in downtown San Antonio when the facility���s Clinical 6 | San Antonio MD News ��� MdNewS.CoM Pavilion opens in early 2013. Gary McWilliams, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Ambulatory Services Officer, notes that confluent civic initiatives to bring business and people downtown presented an opportune time to upgrade the historic campus. ���Our existing structures were outdated,��� Dr. McWilliams says. ���We felt we needed something new, and now was the time to move ahead. There���s so much growth and vibrancy downtown. This endeavor continues our commitment to serve individuals who live, work and pass through the downtown area.��� Critical Care and a primary Care Clinic Expansion of the ExpressMed urgent care clinic is a centerpiece of the renovations. ExpressMed addresses an Affordable Care Act (ACA) measure that emphasizes prevention and outpatient services to reduce inpatient hospital admissions. Located on the first floor of the new Clinical Pavilion, the improved and expanded ExpressMed urgent care clinic is designed to keep patients with nonemergent needs out of the emergency room. The investment requires the addition of more physicians and midlevel providers with experience in family medicine and pediatrics, as well as extended hours: 8 a.m.���8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m.���4 p.m. on Saturdays. ���We���ve looked at the bigger picture of where health care is going,��� says Sergio Farrell, Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Services. ���Because of the emphasis on quality and outcome measures, we aim to take care of patients in the right setting and at the right time, which will reduce the number of emergency department visits and avoidable admissions.��� A place for Kids Featuring the same extended business hours as the ExpressMed clinic, PediExpress ��� the Clinical Pavilion���s new children���s urgent care clinic ��� will offer children a safe alternative to often-hectic emergency departments. A separate entrance and dedicated waiting and examination rooms will provide insulation from traumatic events in the urgent care clinic. Brightly colored walls and decorations will provide a bright atmosphere for children during what may be an otherwise stressful situation. ���Children don���t always need to be in an emergency room environment,��� Farrell