AUSTIN, Texas - (June 22, 2007) - Officials with the Seton Family of Hospitals broke ground today on a five-story addition to the west side of Seton Medical Center Austin (SMCA). The construction project, part of an ongoing Seton expansion plan to meet growing demand throughout the region, will increase capacity and provide a new home for obstetrical services.
"Central Texas residents look to Seton for the complete range of complex care that we provide," said Charles Barnett, President and CEO of the Seton Family of Hospitals. "While we invest in new facilities in Williamson and Hays counties, and in the new Dell Children's Medical Center, we recognize the unique role of Seton Medical Center Austin and are working to ensure this hospital remains a premier facility in the region."
The 124,000-square-foot expansion will provide precious space on the medical center's campus, located in the heart of Central Austin. The expansion will offer a modern, comfortable destination for enhanced obstetrical services, 32 additional licensed beds, two floors set aside for future use with room for 60 additional beds, and a covered foot bridge connecting SMCA to Medical Park Tower, the adjacent physician office building. In addition, the project calls for renovation of 43,000 square feet of existing space.
"Today we begin the second phase of an aggressive expansion project that started in 2000," said John Brindley, President and CEO of Seton Medical Center Austin. "Since completion of phase one, patients and physicians enjoy enhanced emergency and surgical facilities. When the new addition opens, we'll immediately gain greater capacity for obstetrical services and much-needed room to grow."
The second floor of the expansion will be dedicated to obstetrics, including 30 new postpartum rooms, new Stabilization, Continuing Care and Well Baby nurseries, and four new operating rooms for C-sections (one set aside for future use). The existing postpartum, labor and delivery, and antepartum rooms will also have a fresh, inviting look when renovated.
"I view Seton Medical Center Austin as the flagship hospital in the region for high- risk and low-risk obstetrical patients," said David Reue, MD, obstetrician and gynecologist with Drs. Des Rosiers and Wernecke Associates. "With the addition of larger, more comfortable rooms, improved design for patient flow, and state-of-the-art technology, obstetrical patients and their families will have a beautiful new space of their own."
The expansion and renovation at SMCA will cost approximately $40 million. At today's event, Allan Shivers, Jr., chairman of The Seton Fund Board of Trustees announced that $12 million of that cost will be raised through private philanthropy.
The Seton Fund is already halfway to that goal, thanks in large part to the generosity of two local organizations. The Seton Development Board, a group of community members that supports Seton Medical Center Austin, also announced that it will contribute $3 million to the project. Another generous pledge was made by the Seton Medical Center Austin Volunteers, who have pledged $2 million toward the construction project. The fund has already received $1 million in gifts and pledges.
During a special moment at the close of the groundbreaking celebration, individuals born at Seton Medical Center Austin across the decades released butterflies as a symbol of new birth and new beginnings.
Seton is proud to have four hospitals – the only hospitals in Central Texas - that have earned the