Medical facility administrators said it is important that care be robust enough so residents don’t have to venture downtown to the Texas Medical Center.
Area hospital CEOs said they believe continual planning and building are necessary to meet the growth in demand for all levels of care from enhanced services to treatment for stroke and cardiac patients to wellness and fitness.
Expansions in progress
Jerry Ashworth, the CEO of Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital, said he is overseeing the completion of the build-out of all available space at the campus. A groundbreaking in March marked the start of new expansion efforts, which will include a second tower and subsequent sports complex. He said the hospital is on track to complete the second-floor bed unit in late summer.
“When we talk about expansion, it's more than just us adding buildings and parking garages and building out bed units,” Ashworth told Community Impact. “It’s about us expanding the overall level of care that we provide.”
He explained the hospital system used medical claim data from across Texas to determine what types of care are needed by ZIP code. If there’s an unmet need that needs to be addressed, administrators look to see how best to fill that need in each community. He said they also use that data to determine what clinical programs are needed.
“Just based on how we're growing, ... we need those additional 40 beds—we need them today. So ... from a planning standpoint, we'll start the overall planning in May while we're still on this current project and potentially move to construction in the next two to three years,” Ashworth said.
New facilities
HCA Houston Healthcare opened the new Fallbrook 24/7 Emergency Room location off Hwy. 249 on May 1. Scott Davis, the CEO of HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest, said the facility will help meet health care needs in the area. The new full-service ER provides emergency and outpatient services for adults and children.
Scott said it adds a new nine-bed facility to the area, and it will function just like the traditional HCA Houston Healthcare ERs.
“It provides great high-level care close to home and is easy accessibility, not only for just walking into the community in the area as well as for EMS as well for critical patients that they might need to drop off for some type of urgent emergency care,” he said. “It allows us to treat that really quickly and get them back on the road to go help other individuals. I think it's going to be a great asset for the community.”
Memorial Hermann-GoHealth Urgent Care opened a new center April 24 at the intersection of Grant and Spring Cypress roads. Officials in a news release said the facility treats non-life-threatening conditions for patients age 6 months and older as well as offering on-site X-ray services, COVID-19 testing and flu vaccines.
Additionally, in January, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic opened its Fairfield Clinic in Cypress. The 22,500-square-foot clinic provides comprehensive care—including family medicine and internal medicine primary care for adults, as well as ancillary services, including on-site X-ray and laboratory services, with plans to add ultrasounds, mammography, DEXA bone densitometry and a Kelsey Pharmacy.
“Fairfield residents will have greater access to comprehensive, quality health care in their neighborhood,” clinic administrator Holly Collins said in a statement.
Keeping up with growth
Construction is also underway on the new Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital. The system purchased 105 acres and plans to open in early 2025 with approximately 200 beds, eventually expanding to 500 beds. The campus will offer comprehensive services, including oncology, ortho-neuroscience and digestive health, among others.
“We have a whole department of innovation that we created several years back. And it's a group of just passionate individuals that want to change the way that we care for our patients and want to innovate and make things better,” Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital CEO Trent Fulin said. “So we will utilize AI technology, natural language processing and ambient technology in our patient rooms.”
The U.S. Census Bureau reported a 9.4% five-year population increase in Cy-Fair from about 552,000 residents in 2016 to more than 604,000 in 2021.
The subsequent development of new medical facilities and the expansion of facilities in response to that growth also serve to create access for those who live in the surrounding areas, Ashworth said.
“Look at the growth that's happening in the Cypress area, ... Waller County and into the Tomball area,” he said. “We like to joke on campus that from the fifth floor of our south tower we can watch the growth of the community coming up right before our eyes.”
Honing in on health care
Efforts to open new and expand existing health care facilities in Cy-Fair have ramped up in 2023 to meet the needs of a growing community.
1. HCA Houston Healthcare Fallbrook 24/7 ER
- The new emergency facility features a hybrid operating room, a cardiology unit and a new neurosurgery suite.
- 13338 Hwy. 249, Houston
- This new hospital is set to open in early 2025 and will be the Houston Methodist's second full-scale hospital location in northwest Houston.
- 24500 Hwy. 290, Cypress
- A new clinic opened in January, offering family medicine and internal medicine primary care for adults as well as on-site X-ray and laboratory services.
- 27020 Hwy. 290, Cypress
- The 18th Greater Houston-area location opened April 24 in Cypress to treat non-life-threatening conditions for patients age 6 months and older as well as offering on-site X-ray services, COVID-19 testing and flu vaccines.
- 14119 Grant Road, Ste. 210, Cypress
- The expansion of the facility will include adding a professional office building, additional parking and Memorial Hermann Sports Park-Cypress.
- 27800 Hwy. 290, Cypress
