Michael Beaver, president and CEO of Methodist Hospital Stone Oak, said the cardiovascular services area was recently expanded at his hospital.
“The growth is phenomenal, and we think strategically about the services that this community will continue to need,” Beaver said. “My objective is to care for our community, right here in their backyard.”
Two-minute impact
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, San Antonio added 22,000 people between July 2022 and July 2023, making it the largest U.S. city with the biggest one-year population gain. San Antonio’s population is nearing the 1.5 million mark.
Nick Petro is the chief operating officer of Methodist Hospital Landmark, which opened west of Shavano Park in 2023. He said the new facility helps serve the burgeoning Northwest Side and Hill Country populations.
Methodist Healthcare spent $75 million converting the former Forest Park Medical Center into Methodist Hospital Landmark, which addresses medical emergencies and offers multispecialty surgical care, including colorectal and neurological/spinal. The hospital includes an 80,000-square-foot office to house multiple physicians’ offices.
A closer look
Northside health care leaders said adding beds, operating suites and bolstering technology used in specialized care all help area residents get care close to home.
Bill Waechter, North Central Baptist Hospital president and CEO, said Stone Oak’s population growing from fewer than 41,000 people in 2010 to more than 51,000 in 2020 sparked nearly $3 million in improvements in his hospital’s women’s services department, specifically for prenatal and neonatal care.
By the numbers
University Health Women’s and Children’s Hospital opened in 2023 in the South Texas Medical Center. The medical center is a cluster of medical facilities that generated almost $12 billion in revenue in 2022, according to a San Antonio Medical Foundation economic impact study.
Irene Sandate, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, said her hospital’s development is spurred by population growth, a mission to aid young families, and a goal to unite scattered specialized medical services under one roof.
“The Women’s and Children’s Hospital brings together great minds to improve outcomes,” Sandate said.
Looking ahead
More improvements are in store for north side hospitals, such as a planned 40-bed addition and food nutrition service expansion at Methodist Hospital Stone Oak, and upgrading services at North Central Baptist Hospital to better care for elderly people who are prone to falling.
Waechter said instead of competing with each other, north side hospital providers support one another to lift up the community.
“When there are things that one hospital can’t do, we’re happy to step in and take care of those patients,” he added.
