DALLAS -- Texas Children's Hospital plans to add 19 floors to a six-story facility at its Texas Medical Center campus in Houston as part of a $475 million expansion plan, officials announced.
Texas Children's is one of the anchors of the TMC, the largest medical center in the nation.
The 25-floor tower is expected to be complete in 2018, adding a 130-bed intensive care unit, new operating rooms and a new home for the Texas Children's Heart Center.
Plans also call for renovating the emergency center and other areas of the hospital's West Tower. Texas Children's Hospital began construction earlier this year on a new hospital in The Woodlands, a Montgomery County suburb north of Houston.
The expansion plans are part of Texas Children's $475 million Promise Campaign.
As of March 10, Texas Children's had $688 million of debt, according to Moody's Investors Service.
Moody's affirmed its Aa2 rating on the hospital's bonds issued through the Harris County Health Facilities Development Corp. Standard & Poor's affirmed its AA rating on Aug. 25.
"Not-for-profit children's hospitals are likely to remain stable in the next year or two although changes on the horizon, including those related to health care reform, could affect the sector's traditional niche role," S&P analyst Suzie Desai wrote in a separate report on the sector.
"We believe children's hospitals, historically and in relation to comparably rated general acute care hospitals, are more vulnerable to the broader operating pressures affecting the entire health care industry," Desai said. "Therefore, in our view, it is critical for these hospitals to maintain their strong financial profiles to help offset credit risks around a narrower business niche with a higher governmental payer mix."
Texas Children's Woodlands project is expected to cost $360 million, with financing from philanthropy, cash flow and a possible $100 million debt issue, according to Moody's.
Financing plans for the Texas Medical Center tower haven't been announced.
