Baylor College of Medicine in Houston will open an outpatient center at a facility it once planned to open as a hospital, according to a Houston Chronicle report.
The construction of the facility was put on hold three years ago due to financing and other issues, including a planned merger with Rice University. The merger with Rice never materialized, and the facility remained only partially complete.
Baylor College of Medicine President Paul Klotman, MD, said the change better positions the school for anticipated growth in outpatient services. "We are not so foolish as to go rushing in and create more hospital beds than are needed in Houston at this time," he said in the report.
Physicians employed by Baylor will relocate from their current offices, which are leased, into the new Baylor facility from 2013 to 2105. The change of course means Baylor College of Medicine will remain without an adult acute-care hospital. Instead, Baylor physicians will continue to refer patients to local hospitals, including St. Luke's Episcopal and Methodist.
The construction of the facility was put on hold three years ago due to financing and other issues, including a planned merger with Rice University. The merger with Rice never materialized, and the facility remained only partially complete.
Baylor College of Medicine President Paul Klotman, MD, said the change better positions the school for anticipated growth in outpatient services. "We are not so foolish as to go rushing in and create more hospital beds than are needed in Houston at this time," he said in the report.
Physicians employed by Baylor will relocate from their current offices, which are leased, into the new Baylor facility from 2013 to 2105. The change of course means Baylor College of Medicine will remain without an adult acute-care hospital. Instead, Baylor physicians will continue to refer patients to local hospitals, including St. Luke's Episcopal and Methodist.