Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital will add 30 licensed patient beds and an observation unit to its campus by early 2020 as part of a $15 million expansion project, Memorial Hermann Health System announced in a press release Jan. 23. “Sugar Land is one of the fastest-growing communities in the country, and we’re making sure our campus grows in kind to continue providing Fort Bend County exceptional health care,” Malisha Patel, Senior Vice President and CEO of Memorial Hermann Sugar Land and Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, said in the release. When the expansion is complete, the hospital’s capacity will increase to 179 licensed beds, more than double the size from when it first opened in 2006, according to the release. Since then, the campus has also grown its services in emergency medicine, neonatology, sports medicine, imaging and pediatric services. Memorial Hermann has expanded access to care in the area as well with Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center at Sienna Plantation and Memorial Hermann Urgent Care Telfair. “As stewards of high-quality, safe, convenient care for this area, it’s our responsibility to adapt our scope of services and size when needed,” Patel said. “Following this most recent expansion, we will have increased inpatient capacity and will be able to more efficiently meet the specific needs of patients, furthering our mission to advance the health of all those whom we serve.” The anticipated growth in Fort Bend County and the surrounding region was factored into a $93 million hospital campus expansion that was completed in summer 2016. Reserved space in that expansion project’s centerpiece—a 155,000-square-foot patient tower—will be built out to accommodate the 30 additional licensed beds, the release stated. Existing space near the hospital’s Emergency Center will be converted into the 12-bed observation unit—a designated care area for patients from which conditions are evaluated and key decisions on the continuum of care are made, including diagnosis, treatment and whether to discharge or admit a patient. “The organization’s foresight in the campus expansion two years ago has really given us the flexibility and capability to address a new service need when we identify one,” Jason Glover, Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Vice President of Operations, said in the release. “We still have shelled space to grow our surgical services and our newest patient tower was constructed in a way that would allow us to add up to four more floors. We’re here now for the people we serve and we’re prepared for the future.” Memorial Hermann Sugar Land is located at 17500 W. Grand Parkway S., Sugar Land. To learn more about the hospital’s services, call 713-222-2273.