Texas Children's Hospital hopes to break ground on a new pediatric hospital in The Woodlands in January that could open sometime in 2017.

"We know that The Woodlands is growing like crazy with businesses moving there," said Christy Brunton, Texas Children's public relations director. "Texas Children's Hospital's mission is to be able to give children the best access to care in their community."

Brunton said the plan for the hospital is still awaiting final approval from the hospital system's board of directors, which plans to meet Nov. 14. If approved, the hospital would be dedicated strictly to pediatrics, similar to the West Campus location in the Katy area.

The Katy branch—which houses 48 inpatient hospital beds—provides a variety of medical services, including cardiology, diabetes, oncology, hematology, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pulmonary medicine, surgical specialties, radiology and an emergency room, among other services.

"Any service you can get at the West Campus is going to be out there [at The Woodlands hospital]," she said. "We really want to make sure these kids [in The Woodlands area] have access in their own communities."

Although the design of The Woodlands hospital has not been finalized, Brunton said the planned hospital would likely be larger than the 500,000-square-foot West Campus location.

The 22.3 acres for the proposed hospital is at the southwest corner of I-45 and Hwy. 242, just south of The Woodlands branch of St. Luke's Hospital, Brunton said. Texas Children's first purchased some land on the site in 2007 and finalized the purchase of the remainder of the land in September.

If approved by the board, a groundbreaking for the hospital is planned for Jan. 31. Construction on the hospital is projected to take 36 months with an estimated completion date sometime in 2017, she said.

Texas Children's Hospital already has a health center in The Woodlands. The hospital system also staffs the emergency room at St. Luke's Hospital in The Woodlands with pediatric physicians and manages the hospital's neonatal intensive care room.

According to a 2013 community health needs assessment performed for Texas Children's, the hospital system was the most used hospital for non-birth related pediatric hospitalizations for seven of the eight counties in the greater Houston area from 2004-10, including Montgomery County.

"The announcement that Texas Children's is opening a hospital in The Woodlands reinforces the unparalleled quality of life that our community offers," said Gil Staley, CEO of The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership. "We are fortunate to have quality health care available close to home. Where we used to have to travel to the Houston Medical Center to receive this kind of care, it will be available here."

The health care industry employs the third-most employees of all industries in south Montgomery County (17 percent), behind energy (32 percent) and education (18 percent), according to The Woodlands Area EDP. Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital employs 1,330 people as of January 2013, while St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital employs 1,261.

"We are fortunate to have our local hospitals, Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital, St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital and now, Texas Children's Hospital, making significant investments to keep up with the continued growth of our population," Staley said.

For more information on Texas Children's, visit www.texaschildrens.org.