However, as the Leander and Liberty Hill areas continue to grow, commute times have also increased, causing residents to hope for closer hospital and health care options.
“It takes longer if we have to go to Georgetown to the hospital; we have to go through [a] busy intersection, ... and then we’ve got traffic going south into Cedar Park, like horrible traffic,” Jackson Sanders said. “So, it’s time for us to have [a hospital].”
Prior to the area experiencing an increase in population, it took Jackson Sanders 20 minutes to drive to a hospital, but now the commute is about 45 minutes.
“There are people moving in here, and anytime the population increases, there’ll be a need for health care facilities,” said Mary Poche’, Liberty Hill executive director of economic development.
With St. David’s HealthCare expected to break ground by the end of 2023 on a full-service hospital next to its emergency center in Leander, area officials are optimistic it will relieve the health care demand in Leander and Liberty Hill.
The hospital is expected to open its doors in 2025.
“Being able to have that care entirely in town where it’s just a couple of minutes away, you have that peace of mind that you can get there in a hurry; that’s going to be fantastic,” Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle said.
Growing need for health care
In addition to the CPRMC and St. David’s Georgetown, Leander and Liberty Hill residents also have to drive as far as Round Rock, Marble Falls and Burnet to receive the type of care they need.
Liberty Hill resident Chelsey Dawson took her daughter to Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin for a tonsil removal surgery, which was a 50-minute commute. Dawson, who is also epileptic, travels two hours to see her neurologist in San Antonio.
“I haven’t found even that kind of service out here yet that I’m comfortable with,” she said.
Although Liberty Hill officials have yet to identify the need for a hospital, residents are hoping to see plans for one before the spike in population.
“I just want us to be forward thinking and have a vision,” Jackson Sanders said. “I want us to be planning in front of the growth in regard to health care facilities.”
St. David’s HealthCare CEO David Huffstutler said due to the tremendous growth in Central Texas, St. David’s is continuing to monitor the need for hospitals and clinics in area submarkets, which prompted the launch of the upcoming Leander facility.
“We know that these communities are going to continue to grow rapidly, and as they do, families who need health care services in those communities are not going to want to have to travel. They want convenient access to these services,” he said.
St. David’s does not have any facilities in the Liberty Hill area, nor plans for one, but as the city grows, the health care provider will keep track of the demand for anything specific in the future.
“As those communities grow, we evaluate whether we expand those services into more acute expanded outpatient or even inpatient services from there,” Huffstutler said.
Identifying additional needs
In addition to increasing commute times for medical care, residents in Leander and Liberty Hill are also expected to see higher costs for health insurance and services by 2027, according to data through ZoomProspector provided by city officials.
Officials said the growing demand for health care services in conjunction with rising costs is a lot different now compared to several years ago.
“There’s a higher and higher need everywhere for health care, and then you just add to that how much growth we have, and it’s just exponential how much more health care we need than what we needed 15 years ago,” DeLisle said.
DeLisle said getting care for specialty needs, such as autoimmune deficiencies and cancer, is difficult for residents in the Leander and Liberty Hill area.
Leander has one Quest Diagnostics lab location, but DeLisle said most doctor’s offices in the area request blood work from clinical pathology labs. DeLisle said Cedar Park’s three labs always have long waits. The recent openings of Austin Gastroenterology and Austin Diagnostic Clinic help residents with accessing specialty care and surgical procedures, officials said, which were not readily available previously.
At the April 26 Liberty Hill City Council meeting, elementary school student Alice Raffety was recognized for a letter she wrote to the city regarding the growing demand for hospitals.
“We need more hospitals. People will be healthy. No one will be sick,” she said in the letter. “Plus, we only have clinics. No hospitals. Yes, I know it will take months, but we need one.”
Liberty Hill Mayor Liz Branigan emphasized while the city could use a hospital, it’s important not to rush.
“Yes, a hospital would be nice, but we really want a really good one,” she said. “If you want something really good, you just have to wait the amount of time it takes.”
Hospital debut
Branigan said no hospitals are planned for Liberty Hill, and the city will be well covered through the St. David’s facilities in Georgetown and in Leander.
The $182 million St. David’s hospital in Leander will have 34 beds and offer inpatient and outpatient surgery, critical care capabilities, robotic services, and maternity and newborn services. Located between the existing St. David’s Emergency Center and a medical office building, the facility will connect to the emergency center while also have room to accommodate future growth both on the property and inside the facility.
“I still don’t know if [the Leander hospital is] going to be able to handle the capacity out here because we still have houses and apartment buildings just like wildflowers going up in the area,” Dawson said.
Randall Malik, Leander’s Director of Economic Development, said the new hospital will bring 200 jobs to the city, making it one of the city’s largest employers.
In addition to the future Leander hospital opening, Malik said other health care developments are underway, such as Hero Way Medical Office, Pointe 183 and Northline, which will all have heavy medical uses and are located off the 183A Toll road.
“There is a strong demand, and I think there’s groups who are out there trying to fill that demand,” he said.
CADRE Construction owner Ron Evans said the Pointe 183 development will be connected to the site of the Leander hospital, giving people direct access to medical care at both locations.
Poche’ said a portion of property owned by the CPRMC is in Liberty Hill’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, which is land the city could annex. She said the property was probably purchased with the idea that as growth occurs, it could be used for a satellite facility.
“You have to plan for [a hospital], and right now, I think Liberty Hill is sitting pretty good,” Poche’ said. “But as it grows as quickly as it’s growing, there could be some changes along those lines. So we’ll keep our ear to the ground for that and just listen.”
