Officials with St. David’s, the city of Leander and the Leander Chamber of Commerce & Visitor’s Bureau celebrated the official groundbreaking on the 52-acre site on San Gabriel Parkway. The property is located between US 183 and Toll 183A near Austin Community College’s future San Gabriel campus, as well as Capital Metro’s Leander station, which are all located within Leander’s transit-oriented development district.
David Huffstutler, president and CEO of St. David’s HealthCare, said the health care system had been planning to expand into Leander for the past four years.
Officials with St. David’s HealthCare, the city of Leander and the Leander Chamber of Commerce & Visitor’s Bureau celebrated the official groundbreaking of a freestanding emergency clinic and future hospital Thursday.[/caption]“We’re initiating this project in response to rapid growth in the area, and we’ll develop it in phases as the area continues to grow,” Huffstutler said. “We look forward to partnering with the Leander community to ultimately bring them a full-service hospital.”
The health care facility will be constructed in two phases. Huffstutler said construction had officially been underway on the first phase, the freestanding emergency center, for about a month and a half, which is expected to open in fall 2017. The future full-service hospital is expected to hold up to 80 beds.
The 11,200-square-foot freestanding emergency department is expected to have 10-12 rooms and will have testing capabilities, such as radiological testing and a medical lab. The facility will be staffed by St. David’s-affiliated, board-certified emergency medicine physicians and nurses trained in emergency care.
Leander Mayor Chris Fielder read a proclamation during the groundbreaking ceremony declaring May 11, 2017, “St. David’s HealthCare Day” in Leander.
“As Leander continues to grow, there is an increased need for access to health care in our city,” he said. "St. David’s is one of the largest health systems in Texas with a wonderful reputation for quality care; we are grateful for the investment St. David’s is making in our community and are pleased to welcome them to Leander."
During the first year of operation of the freestanding emergency department, St. David’s plans to hire 25 employees, including nurses, imaging personnel, laboratory personnel, registration staff and support personnel. When the future hospital is online, St. David’s plans to hire more than 200 employees.
