Medical center officials confirmed plans are underway to add a seventh and eighth floor to the hospital that opened in 2012. Since that time, McKinney’s population has increased nearly 64%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
At the same time, the medical center has seen an increase in demand for hospital services. In the last five years alone, surgeries and admissions for trauma, maternity and inpatient services have all increased, said Tim Bowen, president of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-McKinney.
The hospital has expanded with the community but additional bed capacity is needed for the future, Bowen said.
“We’re seeing double-digit percent growth almost in every service line,” he said.
Construction on the expansion is expected to start in fall 2025 and finish in 2028.
The details
The hospital currently holds 192 beds and the expansion could add up to 100 additional beds once it’s built out.
Bowen said the new beds will be universal, meaning they won’t be tied to any one medical practice or service. Those beds can be utilized by any patient in need whether it’s an ICU patient or a surgical patient, he said.
“We want to make sure that we’re positioning ourselves to be able to meet whatever demand that is,” Bowen said.
Construction plans will also include a new parking garage on the site’s north side. While details are still being finalized, Bowen said the garage is expected to add around 300 parking spaces and will have capacity to expand.
Bowen said people will see two cranes on-site by the end of the year. Officials have spent the last year planning for the expansion in order to ensure the hospital can continue operating during construction, he said.
Officials plan to build infrastructure for both floors at the same time. Interior rooms within the floors will be built out over time as needed over the next few years, he said.
Assessing the need
Health care demand is projected to continue increasing in the coming years, with the hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment, which examines public health indicators in the North Texas area, projecting increases in inpatient discharges and outpatient visits through 2030.
The hospital is designated as a Level II trauma center, Level III maternity care unit and Level III neonatal intensive care unit, enabling the facility to serve patients from a wide region that reaches Oklahoma and East Texas, Bowen said.
“We’re focused on very critical patients and being able to care for those very critical patients,” he said.
- "We’re at a point where we’re looking at that next 10 years," Bowen said. "The growth of the area has pushed us to the point where we need to add additional bed capacity to meet the continuing growth of the community."
- “Having a strong network of medical providers in this area only helps enhance and helps us become more resilient in the community,” said Michael Kowski, president and CEO of the McKinney Economic Development Corporation.
- "The medical district really is focused on the hospital itself—really being that anchor in the area," said Hayley Angel, interim planning director for the city of McKinney. "Having the hospital there really gives that area a distinct feel.”
Each floor at the medical center holds between 100 to 150 full-time employees, Bowen said. The hospital can add between 200 to 300 employees to staff the new floors when they’re built out.
The number of health care jobs in McKinney has increased over the last five years and is projected to increase more in the next five years, according to data from the McKinney Economic Development Corporation.
“People want to be here and people want to grow here,” Kowski said. “We’re just so excited to support that project.”
The medical center acts as an anchor for the city’s Medical District that’s included in its comprehensive plan. The plan, adopted in 2018, includes a mix of single-family and urban residential development surrounding the hospital.
Angel said the vision for the area aims to provide housing options and commercial uses for Baylor employees while supporting the hospital’s growth, she said.
“Over time it started to have more and more smaller medical uses develop around it as well as some commercial to help support that employment base,” Angel said.
The impact
Developments that have followed the medical center’s opening include Kroger, the Painted Tree master-planned community and Lake Forest Medical Park.
- 2012: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-McKinney opens
- 2019: Kroger and other businesses begin opening nearby
- 2022: Permits filed for Lake Forest Medical Park, located next to the hospital
- Fall 2025: Vertical expansion project expected to start
- 2028: Expansion anticipated to finish
