Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/274627
AS THE APRIL OPENING OF UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL'S SKY TOWER HERALDS THE END OF ITS NEARLY DECADE-LONG CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM IS POSITIONED TO LEAD SOUTH TEXAS INTO THE NEW HEALTHCARE ERA. U NIVERSITY HOSPITAL OPENED in 1968, and its last major expan- sion was in 1983. The addition included an Emergency Center equipped to care for about 35,000 patients annually. In 2013, more than 68,000 patients sought treatment in this same space. The facility has always been dedi- cated to providing state-of-the-art care, and its Board of Managers decided to put this value into action, address the burgeon- ing regional population and change the medical landscape by embarking on the Capital Improvement Project. As a result, the hospital is renovating existing facilities and added the Sky Tower — described as University Hospital's "new front door." "The Sky Tower adds 420 private patient rooms and an operating suite that will allow us to expand to 35 surgical suites," CEO Tim Brierty, FACHE, explains. "Our Trauma and Emergency Department has grown to 85 beds. This initiative was driven by population growth in the 26 south Texas counties we serve." Already, the building project has introduced a new ambulatory facility to downtown San Antonio on the historic Robert B. Green campus. The Sky Tower's 10 stories add 1 million square feet to University Hospital, doubling its size and creating room for essential and specialty services to address the needs of a rapidly growing population. "In the years prior to the project, our signature service lines were inundated with patients, and we had to limit growth opportunities in neurosciences, organ trans- plantation, cardiology and trauma," Brierty says. "This expansion increases our capacity, giving our team access to operating rooms and patient beds we didn't have before." University Hospital serves as the primary Level I trauma center for a geographic area larger than the state of Tennessee. The increased space provides improved patient and provider experiences by categorically reducing wait times and easing the burden on an emergency department that routinely operates at 200 percent capacity. The expansion also allows the facility room for further expansion. While strategically positioning University Hospital to best meet patients' needs was a primary catalyst for expansion, other forces pushed the initiative onward. A Legislative Push When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law, it redirected healthcare prac- tice from a quantity-based model to one predicated upon quality care. For University Health System, which has long prided itself INVESTING IN A LEGACY By Michael Ferguson Tim Brierty, CEO of University Hospital (left), and Bryan Alsip, MD, MPH, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, University Health System 6 | San Antonio MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M