Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital plans to break ground on a $70 million six-story patient tower early next year, and a $15 million, 100,000-square-foot professional building this summer. CEO Scott Barbe said the patient tower is currently under design and is set to open in January 2016, and the exterior shell of the professional building should be completed by the end of the year for physicians to begin leasing.

" Katy's population increased by 98 percent from 2000 to 2010 and it's growing by five to six percent annually," Barbe said. "As a longtime institution and partner in this community, we have witnessed that explosion in growth...We are making a major investment in our hospital that will allow us to continue to be the provider of choice in the Katy area as we have been for more than 30 years."

Depending on how many square feet each physician desires, Barbe said, the professional building could accommodate for as many as 60–65 offices.

The patient tower will increase bed count from 142 to 200 and double the number of operating rooms, as well as expand the emergency center. Barbe said the hospital is in most need of the surgical space as well as labor and delivery rooms.

" On certain days, we get pretty congested in terms of the operating schedule," he said. "We get all [the surgeries] done, but the additional rooms will definitely help."

To accommodate for future growth, the patient tower's design and architecture will allow for three additional stories to be added when necessary. The additional structures will be located at its 66-acre campus, 23900 I-10, which, once its newest buildings are complete, will still have room to grow.

" We recognize that Katy is one of the fastest growing cities in our System's service area," said Dan Wolterman, president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System. "This significant expansion is not only an acknowledgment of that growth, but an understanding of that community's health care needs. We look forward to growing with Katy and its surrounding communities, and advancing the health of its citizens for another 30 years and beyond."

For more information on Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, call 713-222-2273 or visit www.memorialhermann.org.