The implementation of Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital's $131 million expansion plan has begun with the construction of a new emergency center along Hwy. 6 in Missouri City. The $8 million facility is expected to open in July 2014 at 8200 Hwy. 6 next to Aldi Food Market and will feature 10 treatment rooms. The project makes up of the first phase of the hospital's overall expansion, said Chris Siebenaler, CEO of Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.

"[The project] gives us a physical presence in the heart of the fast-growing Missouri City community," he said. "The new emergency care center will give Missouri City residents a first-class medical facility within minutes of their homes."

Phase 2 of the expansion will consist of the renovation and relocation of several services, such as orthopedics, the heart center and sports medicine and therapy, to the hospital's main campus at Hwy. 59 and Sweetwater Boulevard. The expansion also calls for the construction of a new patient tower that is expected to open on the campus in early 2016.

The ongoing hospital expansion, which was announced in October, is expected to be completed in the next three years. The expansion is expected to bring 104 additional beds and a new cardiac lab, along with about 350 new employees, by 2016. In the past five years, the Methodist system has undergone about $300 million in expansions, adding close to 1,500 jobs, Steiblener said.

"Population growth is going to continue to dictate the expansions we are seeing in health care," said Jeff Wiley, president and CEO of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council. "The opportunity for new [health care] jobs in the community is exciting."

Fort Bend County is expected to reach a population of more than 675,000 by 2018 with about 40 percent expected to be 65 and older.

In addition to the Houston Methodist expansion, the Memorial Hermann Health System announced its $93 million expansion plan in October, which will consist of updated equipment, a $78 million, 90-bed patient tower and additional shell space for medical offices and patient services to allow for future expansion capacity. The projects are in the design phase and are expected to be complete in early 2016.

"Sugar Land and the surrounding area continue to grow and it is our responsibility to respond to that growth not only with upgraded and expanded facilities, but also with new technology and a higher level of services," said Greg Haralson, CEO of Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital.