What’s happening?
The $247 million expansion will add more than 129,000 square feet of new and renovated space to the Katy hospital as well as build a new 65,000-square-foot Comprehensive Care Center in the Cinco Ranch area, according to a news release.
The projects will also create roughly 300 health care jobs in the Katy area by 2030, said Kyle Stanzel, vice president and chief operating officer of Houston Methodist West.
"It's not about just growing physical space, ... but it's about expanding our ability to treat each patient, their loved ones and their families with the highest quality of care," he said.
According to the release, several features of the $185 million hospital expansion, happening on the northern part of the Katy campus, include a:
- 36-bed observation unit for emergency room patients
- Four more operating rooms
- 16 more emergency department rooms plus triage spaces
- Five new neonatal intensive care unit beds
A closer look
The new hospital rooms will be equipped with technology aimed at improving patient monitoring and communication, President of Medical Staff Dr. Amito Chandiwal said. Rooms will include televisions where patients can order meals or receive spiritual care, as well as digital whiteboards with up-to-date clinical information.
These rooms will build on other technology enhancements at the hospital, such as the addition of a vital sign monitoring device called the BioButton in late 2023, Chandiwal said.
The small device tracks patients' vital signs and sends them to nursing staff, replacing blood pressure monitoring cuffs, temperature checks, and monitors for heart rate and blood oxygen saturation, Chandiwal said.
This device can be used in the evenings to reduce the frequency in which staff disturb sleeping patients to check vitals, he said.
Also of note
Meanwhile, the $62 million Comprehensive Care Center will break ground in October or November behind Houston Methodist Emergency Care Center in Cinco Ranch, Stanzel said.
According to the release, it will offer primary care, imaging and lab services, and specialized care services such as:
- Orthopedics
- Neurology
- Gastroenterology
- Urology
- Rheumatology
The Fulshear-area center will be the hospital's first Comprehensive Care Center in the west Houston area, Stanzel said.
“Our focus has always been on providing care to our patients and excellent care close to their home,” he said. “We feel like with this location, we’ll be able to further deliver on that promise of convenience and high-quality care.”
Fulshear Mayor Don McCoy said health care expansions attract residents to the area who don’t want to travel into Houston to receive care.
“Having state-of-the-art hospitals in our region does nothing but attract other investments, other companies to come here,” he said.
Zooming in
Collaborations with local colleges and school districts help develop the potential hires needed as the hospital system expands, said Lisa Mauricio, associate chief nursing officer at Houston Methodist West.
One such partnership launched last fall between the hospital and the University of Houston's Andy & Barbara Gessner College of Nursing, Mauricio said. The new HealthCare Learning Partnership allows a registered nurse to work at the hospital part time while also serving as an adjunct professor for nursing students.
"We're always looking down the road to the future, we know we're going to keep needing these programs," she said.
Remember this?
This expansion comes after Houston Methodist West staff wrapped up another $65 million project last September that included a new medical office building, 900 new parking spaces, nature spaces with walking trails and an access road linking I-10 to Park Row, Community Impact reported.
What’s next
The two expansion projects will be completed by 2027, but elements may open throughout the next few years, Stanzel said.
