North - Northwest Austin Edition | December 2023

Development

Health care

BY BRITTANY ANDERSON & KATY MCAFEE

BY BRITTANY ANDERSON

February opening planned for Texas Children’s Hospital in North Austin

County to begin design for mental health center The first design phase for a Travis County mental health diversion center will begin in early 2024, costing $2 million and taking about a year to complete. Diving deeper The mental health diversion center, spear- headed by Travis County Judge Andy Brown, will be an alternative to jail for people who commit nonviolent crimes and suffer from mental illness or substance abuse disorders. The facility aims to be a solution to Travis County’s growing jail population and rising rate of recidivism in people with mental illness who commit nonviolent crimes, county officials said. What’s next? While the design phase kicks off, commissioners and project leaders are still ironing out what

Facility outcomes

What’s next?

The new facility was proposed due to success with similar programs, such as Miami-Dade County, which saw:

Williams said while Texas Children’s owns land in South Austin for a potential future hospital, the initial North Austin project needs to be finished first in order to be able to invest in another campus. “We also know there’s a desperate need down south. There’s less down there,” he said.

68% fewer jail bookings

N

94% fewer jail days for participants

Texas Children’s Hospital is gearing up to open its first Austin hospital in February. The $485 million project broke ground in early 2021. The new location will mark the system’s fourth hospital expansion and bring upwards of 1,500 jobs, said Russ Williams, senior vice president of the campus. “This is the 10th largest city in the country. There is absolutely no reason a child should ever, with unbelievably rare exceptions, have to leave here,” Williams said. Along with 13 emergency room units and an urgent care center, the hospital is set to offer a wide range of services, Williams said, including neonatal and pediatric intensive care, a labor and delivery unit, gynecological services, a sleep center, a heart center and renal dialysis.

Key features of the hospital

Domain Northside to gain new office tower Domain Northside will gain a new office space in the coming years. The details Consisting of a 400,000-square-foot tower and 600,000-square-foot parking garage, the project is still in its preliminary planning stages, representatives with developer Northwood Retail said. The project name and timeline are still being finalized, the representatives said.

Lower daily costs per bed utilized

10 intensive care unit rooms

Lower total costs per number of individuals diverted compared to traditional programs

Fetal center for fetal surgeries

SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY FORENSIC MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT/COMMUNITY IMPACT

LAKE CREEK PKWY

services will be provided when the diversion center does open. Discussions as to what services the center will provide once opened have included: • Suicide prevention or other determent programs • Connecting those admitted with medication, psychiatrists, psychologists or persons with lived experience

183A TOLL

Isolation rooms for very sick patients

45 TOLL

In-house pharmacy

N

9835 N. Lake Creek Pkwy, Austin

SOURCE: RUSS WILLIAMS, TEXAS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL/COMMUNITY IMPACT

HYMEADOW 12611 Hymeadow (512) 506-8401

NORTH 620 10601 N FM 620 (512) 506-8316

ARBORETUM 10515 North Mopac Expressway (512) 342-6893

Powered by