St. David's South Austin Hospital Announces $72M Expansion, Name Change

St. David's South Austin (TX) Hospital will begin a $72 million renovation and expansion project in April that will add three floors, more than 100,000 square feet, and 25% more beds. Effective immediately, the hospital has been renamed St. David's South Austin Medical Center.

"This renovation highlights three of the hospital's top priorities—providing the highest quality healthcare, ensuring hospital stays are comfortable and convenient for patients and their families, and offering resources for the community," said interim CEO Brett Matens, in a media release. "Our new name will better identify the hospital's current and future services to the community."

The project, scheduled for completion in April 2012, will include:

• Expansion: A three-story patient tower, with one floor of universal beds for critical care; an expanded women's services area, including a new nursery and Level II nursery; renovated surgical suites, including new operating rooms for general surgery, neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery; and a new post-anesthesia care unit.


• Hospitality renovations: A new family waiting area outside of the nurseries, more parking, and additional larger-sized rooms for extended stays or patients with large families.


• Community resource renovations: An auditorium and community center; a renovated chapel; and a remodeled dining area and food court.

Matens says the medical center will have to hire more nurses within the medical surgical areas and critical care departments, and support staff in all ancillary areas.

In 2005, St. David's South Austin Hospital completed a $50 million expansion project that included 34 new medical surgical beds, a cardiovascular center, an ICU observation unit, and a 360-space parking garage. St. David's South Austin Medical Center, owned by St. David's HealthCare, is an acute-care facility with 252 beds.

Architectural plans and interior design for the tower will be led by Nashville-based Gould Turner Group, Inc. The garage expansion will be led by Nashville-based Earl Swensson Associates, Inc. The general contractor has not yet been named.