Harris Health breaks ground on a new $1.6 billion hospital

Houston voters approved a $2.5 billion bond package to partially fund the facility expansion, capital improvements to existing facilities and build community clinics.

Image courtesy of Harris Health and HKS Architects, Inc

Harris Health System announced in May that it broke ground on a new $1.6 billion hospital on the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Hospital Campus in northeast Houston. The 12-story, 1.3 million-square-foot facility is slated to be the third Level I trauma center in Houston and the city’s first outside of Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world.

The new hospital is designed by HKS Architects and will have 390 private patient rooms with capacity to flex to an additional 60. With 15 dedicated operating rooms, a hybrid operating room and a rooftop helipad, the facility is positioned to cater to a range of medical needs from routine procedures to emergency surgeries.

This project marks the first step in a multiyear, $2.9 billion facilities expansion plan, which entails additional renovation of the existing Harris Health LBJ Hospital Campus, expansion of the Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital at the Texas Medical Center and the construction of three new health centers throughout the greater Houston area.

UTHealth Houston’s McGovern Medical School, a longtime partner of Harris Health located adjacent to the existing LBJ Hospital campus, will also benefit from expanded clinical training opportunities for the school’s residents and faculty.

“Harris Health and UTHealth Houston share a commitment not only to improve patient outcomes but also to address the social determinants of health,” said Kevin Dillon, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer at UTHealth Houston, during the groundbreaking ceremony.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Houston is the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, but despite the city’s status as a medical hub, equitable access to quality care for its residents has historically not been guaranteed.

Harris Health was founded in 1966 as a safety net hospital system, and its new strategic plan aligns with its original mission. The system sees the LBJ Hospital expansion in particular as an investment in Houston’s northeast side, which “has been underdeveloped for many years, especially in health care,” according to Esmaeil Porsa, MD, Harris Health president and CEO. “For us to put this hospital here, it will be central to serving this community for many, many generations to come.”

Community support of the project underscores the value of that investment. In November 2023, Harris County residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of a $2.5 billion bond referendum to support the hospital construction, community-based clinics and necessary improvements to Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital. To further offset the $2.9 billion capital improvement plan, Harris Health seeks to raise $300 million from operational savings and an additional $100 million in philanthropic support.

The LBJ Hospital expansion is slated to open in 2028.