St. David's HealthCare announced Sept. 13 that it will undergo a $36 million expansion at its Women's Center of Texas that will add 20 beds to its neonatal intensive care unit and 18 beds to the antepartum unit.

The expansion will increase the 121,000-square-foot facility by 10,000 square feet and is expected to be completed in September 2014, said Allen Harrison, CEO of St. David's North Austin Medical Center.

"Any time you get a chance to grow and expand the services that [we] have already been offering, it is nice validation that [we're] doing well, that the community has a lot of confidence in [us] and that we've had success at our core mission to take care of moms and babies," Harrison said. "We've seen dramatic growth and we are trying to catch up with that growth."

Sheri Dube, chief operating officer of St. David's NAMC, said part of the reason for the expansion is because of the high volume of births at the women's center. The women's center at St. David's NAMC is one of Central Texas' largest women's services providers, according to St. David's. In 2012, the center saw nearly 6,000 births, and St. David's expects that number to increase in 2013.

Harrison said he does not know yet how many employees will be hired to accommodate the expansion.

"With this exciting news comes more good news—we're hiring," Harrison said. "The expansion will necessitate an increase in nursing staff within labor and delivery, antepartum and our NICU units, as well as expected support staff in all of our women's services areas."

Harrison said patient services will not be interrupted or affected during the renovations. Services offered at the women's center include mammograms, prenatal care, checkups and labor and delivery, he said.