Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/274627
U N P R EC E D E N T E D G R OW T H At $899 million, University Health System's Capital Improvement Project is the largest building endeavor in Bexar County history. The finished product will be well worth it, providing the system's owners — the people of Bexar County — state-of-the-art, aestheti- cally pleasing facilities equipped with leading-edge technology. With roots extending back to the opening of the Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital in 1917, University Hospital's present appearance has gone through many iterations. In 1968, a new hospital opened in the South Texas Medical Center — part of a campaign to bring a medical school to San Antonio. At the time, legislators approved the new hospital with the understanding that a teaching hospital would be included nearby. Throughout the years, physicians at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have provided quality care to South Texas, a partnership that promises to flourish in the hospital's new facilities. on providing best-practice medicine, this translated into an opportunity to sharpen its focus on effective care. "As a regional center for referrals, we've developed strategies that make us the health center of choice in the San Antonio area," explains Bryan Alsip, MD, MPH, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of University Health System. "To do so, we must be able to meet patient needs at every level and also provide facilities that attract physicians. Expanded space, improved technology and enhanced hospital environment are all in line with our goal to create a hospital where patients want to be treated and physicians want to practice." GOING GREEN When planning the Capital Improvement Project, University Health System's Board of Managers emphasized making the facility as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. So Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) principles guided the project. The Sky Tower is constructed using many recycled products, and even though it doubles University Hospital's size, the Sky Tower uses 33 percent less energy than the energy code requires, and recycled water supplies landscaping and air-cooling plants. PHOTOS © MARK GREENBERG PHOTOGRAPHY One of 420 new patient rooms in Sky Tower, bringing the total at University Hospital to 716 Lobby of Sky Tower at University Hospital Another view of Sky Tower lobby M D N E W S . CO M ■ MD NEWS San Antonio | 7