CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System leaders have confirmed their commitment to establish a freestanding children's hospital in San Antonio but said they are seeking new partners for the project now that negotiations have come to an end with another organization they had been courting.
CHRISTUS Santa Rosa plans to establish a $135 million children's hospital to replace its downtown acute care campus, which has an infrastructure valued at an additional $250 million. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa already has shut down adult services at that campus and transferred them to other CHRISTUS facilities in San Antonio. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa is continuing to offer pediatric services at the campus as it renovates the site to create the Children's Hospital of San Antonio. Construction is under way now; the hospital is expected to open in 2014.
Originally, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa had proposed collaboration on the children's hospital with its long-standing partner, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. But, last month, the science center's parent announced that facility will instead partner with Vanguard Health Systems of Nashville, Tenn., and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on their own $350 million, 250-bed, freestanding children's hospital.
In a news conference, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System President Patrick Carrier said while leaders were disappointed by the University of Texas' decision, they are prepared to move forward with their plan for the Children's Hospital of San Antonio. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa now is exploring a potential academic affiliation in pediatrics with Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, both of Houston. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa hopes to have an agreement signed sometime this month.
A partnership with Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine could include a residency training program, recruitment of subspecialists, expansion of subspecialty programs, expansion of research activity and development of outreach programs, according to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa leaders.
CHRISTUS Santa Rosa has a 40-year history of collaborating with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa leaders said their system will continue to partner with the health science center on adult medicine.