Flooding delays opening of new Women’s & Children’s Hospital at South Texas Medical Center

A water line break at University Health’s new $573.7 million Women’s & Children’s Hospital at the South Texas Medical Center will delay what was to be an imminent opening until fall, officials said Tuesday.

A “fire sprinkler standpipe” in one of the hospital’s stairwells ruptured last week, according to a news release issued by University Health, flooding the stairwell, hallways and adjacent rooms throughout the 12-story building. 

Restoration experts have been in the building to assess the damage, cleaning and removing moisture. That work is ongoing, and hospital officials declined to estimate when the hospital might open.

The 1.1 million-square-foot hospital will feature 300 patient beds, a children’s emergency department, a women’s center for obstetrics and gynecology, labor and delivery rooms and C-section rooms, and pediatric and neonatal intensive care units.

University Health had not taken possession of the building from the construction manager, a joint venture of Joeris and JE Dunn, according to the statement, so expenses related to the water damage will be borne by the construction manager and its insurance provider.

Joeris and JE Dunn has “pledged to make these repairs as quickly as possible and are being proactive in ordering materials that will need to be replaced,” according to Tuesday’s statement. An after-hours call to a JE Dunn spokeswoman was not immediately returned. 

“While this is extremely disappointing and it is vitally important for us to open this new hospital to serve women, babies and pediatric patients as soon as possible, the health and safety of our patients, visitors and team members is our highest priority,” stated the release.

“Throughout this remediation process, our teams will ensure all of this work will be done right and fully inspected prior to opening the hospital. We will continue to keep our community informed.”

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