The hospital will be the first of its kind for the community, bringing inpatient services and specialized care to the 23-acre site at the northwest corner of I-10 and Hwy. 46.
While construction is not scheduled to begin until 2026, the new development will give Kendall County residents additional options for medical care.
Two-minute impact
Baptist Health System, owned by Tenet Healthcare, operates seven acute care hospitals in the San Antonio region.
Baptist Health System officials said the Boerne hospital will be similar in design to other acute care hospitals, such as the Westover Hills location, which opened in 2024.
The new hospital and adjoining medical office building will provide emergency and inpatient services, while increasing access to general surgery, cardiology, orthopedics and other services upon completion. The medical offices will offer physician practices and additional ancillary health care services, officials said.
“The services provided will allow residents of Boerne and the surrounding area to reduce the need to travel outside the community for care,” Bill Waechter, market chief executive officer for Baptist Health System, said in an email.
Map made using smappen
Assessing the need
While Kendall County does not have 100,000 residents, statewide data scales the current number of health care professionals to the current population, resulting in a ratio that is higher than the listed number of nurses in the community.
Compared with surrounding counties, Kendall County has fewer health care professionals, according to data from Texas Health and Human Services. With the construction of a new hospital, that number is expected to increase.
The catalyst
Since Baptist Health System expressed interest in a Boerne hospital, the Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corp. has been involved in attracting the development and other medical-related projects.
The hospital will be the first of its kind for the Boerne community, which has seen proposed hospital development that did not come to fruition.
BKCEDC President and CEO Amy Story said the Baptist development will serve as a catalyst for the health care industry in Boerne.
While emergency rooms, clinics and other medical practices have a presence in the community, having a hospital as an anchor encourages specialists to set up permanent space in the area.
“Some specialists come here maybe one or two days a week, and hopefully that will increase and establish full-time presences here,” Story said.
Story said the hospital also attracts retail, commercial and residential development as more people visit for services or due to employment opportunities.
“As our community grows, we will continue to see new retail and development opportunities,” she said.
Medical offices in the Boerne area are already being developed. One Seven Business Park opened in October, and a new wellness plaza is under construction off Herff Road.
Fair Oaks Emergency Room and Boerne ER are also planning developments in the city.
All of these projects coming online over the next few years put Kendall County in a position to ensure care for all residents without having to leave the county limits, Story said.
The plan
Despite being located near the city of Boerne, the hospital will not actually fall within the city limits.
City staff said the property used to be in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction before the property owner requested removal. This means the city does not permit or regulate development; instead, permits are issued by the county.
Kendall County resident Randy Loudermilk said the new facility will benefit all county residents who must travel outside Boerne for specialized medical care.
“I think a hospital in Boerne would be great for county residents like myself,” he said. “I either have to go to San Antonio or Kerrville for specialized care, and having that in Boerne would save me a world of time.”
Looking ahead
Baptist Health System will continue site work to prepare for the construction of the Boerne hospital and ancillary offices, which are set to break ground in 2026.
Medical offices and other health care facilities are expected to open in Boerne over the next two years, providing space for primary care physicians, specialized care and other services before the completion of the hospital, Story said.
The hospital will be designed with future expansion in mind as the community continues to grow, Baptist Health System officials said. As of publication time, an official completion date for the Baptist Hospital in Boerne has not been announced.
