The medical center has been expanded several times over the years, said Jay Fox, BSW Health Austin Area president, and this expansion of the campus will be one of the largest in its history.
Site work for the $220 million expansion of the existing Baylor Scott & White Round Rock Medical Center campus began in January 2023, Vice President of Operations Drew Bennett said. It is expected to be completed in 2026, barring any delays, with rolling openings as new parts of the facility come online. He also said reinvestment of funds raised through BSW nonprofit efforts will fund the expansion.
Once complete, a neonatal intensive care unit; an expanded labor and delivery department; additional operating rooms and patient beds; cardiac catheterization, interventional radiology and testing laboratories; an expanded emergency department; and additional support for existing facilities, such as the hospital's cafe, will operate out of the expanded facility.
"We're excited that we'll be opening things throughout the next couple of years as we move forward," Bennett said. "Our patients, our staff members are at the center of everything we do, and we look forward to inviting all of them to work and receive care in this space."
As he mentioned during a September panel discussion on the state of health care in Round Rock, Bennett said many parts of the new facility will be universal beds, meaning multiple types of care could be provided in each space, allowing for fluctuating bed space needs to be met. At the time, area health care leaders described this shift in preference as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-driven demand for additional bed space. For example, Bennett said, ICU patients could have beds in the expanded general medicine surgical unit, or it could become a specialized unit, should the need arise.
"We're building those rooms so that they're not specialized into one place [and] that they have all the resources they need to provide what we call universal care," Bennett said. "As needs may change or grow, it gives us more flexibility."
The additional capacity will allow BSW to address the needs of a growing population, as the Greater Round Rock area is projected to grow by nearly 90,000 people by 2040. Fox said the health care system has observed a 30% increase in the number of patients it serves within Williamson County just in the last five years. Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell said this is due in part to the appeal of the area for large companies looking to locate facilities, drawn in by what the community has to offer.
"One of the continued conversations that I have as I talk with state, national and world leaders about what the magic we have here in Williamson County [is]—it's the fact that we're a community and that our community really, really matters," Gravell said.
Gravell said he has experienced both the best and worst days of his life—the births of his grandchildren and the deaths of his parents—in the Baylor Scott & White Round Rock Medical Center, impressing upon employees the importance of their work. He also encouraged BSW officials to plan for additional expansions.
"I'm excited about what you're doing, but it is too small," Gravell said. "You need to dream big, because we are being sought by leaders from all around the world. [Baylor] Scott & White isn't just a hospital in Williamson County. Baylor Scott & White is an anchor for the people of Central Texas, and it all begins here."
