University of Texas Chooses Vanguard, CHOP for New Children's Hospital; Ends Partnership With Christus

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, part of Austin-based University of Texas System, announced plans to partner with Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanguard Health Systems and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to build a freestanding children's hospital in San Antonio, in effect ending its more than 40-year partnership with San Antonio-based CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System.

Under the agreement, Vanguard will fund a $350 million, 250-bed children's hospital adjacent to UT Medicine San Antonio, the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at UTHSC-San Antonio. Faculty from UT Medicine San Antonio will offer general and specialty care to children and adolescents as well as instruction to medical students, residents and fellows.

The new children's hospital will anchor a network of pediatric clinics. The partnership will also align ambulatory clinics in South Texas and San Antonio to create an electronic medical records system to streamline pediatric care.

University of Texas System's board of regents authorized UTHSC-San Antonio to make an agreement with Vanguard and CHOP after considering two other proposals from Christus Santa Rosa Health System and San Antonio-based Methodist Healthcare System.

Christus Santa Rosa is currently building a $135 million, 800,000-square-foot expansion and renovation of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital in San Antonio, which also includes a name change to Children's Hospital of San Antonio.

While Kenneth L. Kalkwarf, DDS, MS, president ad interim of UTHSC-San Antonio, said he would like to continue to work collaboratively with Christus in patient care, Patrick Carrier, president of Christus Santa Rosa, expressed disappointment in UTHSC-San Antonio's decision in a statement published by KSAT.

"When it comes to building a freestanding children's hospital in San Antonio's growing urban core, we are disappointed that the Health Science Center has chosen not to join with us in that pursuit, and in fact has chosen to pursue a relationship with Nashville-based Vanguard Health Systems and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia," he wrote.

Mr. Carrier announced that the health system is exploring an academic affiliation in pediatrics with Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine now that its ties with UTHSC-San Antonio are broken.

More Articles on San Antonio Pediatrics:

CHOP, Vanguard to Submit Proposal for Texas Children's Hospital
$135M Expansion Transforms CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital Into Children's Hospital of San Antonio

University Health System in Texas Ends Children's Hospital Talks With Christus

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