Mckinney Courier-gazette > News
Baylor-McKinney hospital will finish final floor Friday
Andrew Snyder/McKinney Courier-Gazette - Construction crews prepare to "top out" the final floor of the new Baylor hospital building on U.S. 380 and Lake Forest Drive.
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@acnpapers.com
A little over a year from now, Baylor Medical Center at McKinney will be fully operational.
It has already made a rapid transition from an empty lot to the recognizable outline of a hospital, and now there's nowhere to grow but inward. On Friday, the construction crew will hold a "topping out" ceremony to mark the completion of vertical construction. The building won't be getting any taller, but there is still plenty of work to be done before the hospital's planned opening in July 2012.
"McKinney is a vibrant and passionate community that's rooted in tradition and still focused on its future," Baylor-McKinney President Scott Peek said. "I think that Baylor shares that same balance of having a rich history and tradition around the Dallas-Fort Worth area but also being innovative in how we deliver care."
The hospital will open with 95 beds out of its 191-bed capacity. The number of beds it adds after its opening will depend on demand from the community, but Peek said he expects quick growth.
Peek said that even the most conservative estimates of the average number of beds needed per 1,000 people suggest that the McKinney market, including the city and surrounding communities, needs another hospital.
"Even after the hospital is built and it's open and running, there's still a need for more beds probably," he said. "The reason is that there are a lot of patients now who are seeking health care at other places. Our hope is that people will stay in McKinney for their health care."
Peek was named president in 2010 and currently works as the chief operating officer (CEO) at Baylor-Grapevine, a 275-bed hospital. Peek will transition to working only on his new hospital over the coming months hile he currently splits his time between McKinney and Grapevine.
Peek said that need and support from the community, including local doctors, have to be in place before Baylor considers moving into a new location. Doctor support is important because a good portion of those that will work at Baylor-McKinney will come from within the community. Physicians in Texas operate independently, not as hospital employees, and Peek said he thinks they'll want to have the option of brining their patients to his facility.
"We've had a lot of physician excitement and engagement around brining Baylor to the McKinney market for a long time," Peek said. "It's just taken a while to come to fruition."
Baylor has owned the land along U.S. 380 that its new hospital is being built on for awhile, Peek said, and the location has the future growth of McKinney in mind. Peek said that the north side of town would become its center over the next 10 years.
According to Baylor, the McKinney campus will create approximately 500 new jobs at "build out". Nurses will be in high demand, as will other licensed medical professionals such as pharmacists, radiologists and laboratory technicians and physical therapists.
Peek said his main focus in the near future will be on building a medical and executive staff, while also keeping in contact with local doctors. Other members of the Baylor-McKinney executive team already hired include Chief Nursing and Operating Officer Melissa Winter-currently the chief nurse at Baylor-Plano, a hospital she helped open-and Chief Financial Officer Steve Roussel, who recently served as vice president of finance at Baylor-Waxahachie.
It has already made a rapid transition from an empty lot to the recognizable outline of a hospital, and now there's nowhere to grow but inward. On Friday, the construction crew will hold a "topping out" ceremony to mark the completion of vertical construction. The building won't be getting any taller, but there is still plenty of work to be done before the hospital's planned opening in July 2012.
"McKinney is a vibrant and passionate community that's rooted in tradition and still focused on its future," Baylor-McKinney President Scott Peek said. "I think that Baylor shares that same balance of having a rich history and tradition around the Dallas-Fort Worth area but also being innovative in how we deliver care."
The hospital will open with 95 beds out of its 191-bed capacity. The number of beds it adds after its opening will depend on demand from the community, but Peek said he expects quick growth.
Peek said that even the most conservative estimates of the average number of beds needed per 1,000 people suggest that the McKinney market, including the city and surrounding communities, needs another hospital.
"Even after the hospital is built and it's open and running, there's still a need for more beds probably," he said. "The reason is that there are a lot of patients now who are seeking health care at other places. Our hope is that people will stay in McKinney for their health care."
Peek was named president in 2010 and currently works as the chief operating officer (CEO) at Baylor-Grapevine, a 275-bed hospital. Peek will transition to working only on his new hospital over the coming months hile he currently splits his time between McKinney and Grapevine.
Peek said that need and support from the community, including local doctors, have to be in place before Baylor considers moving into a new location. Doctor support is important because a good portion of those that will work at Baylor-McKinney will come from within the community. Physicians in Texas operate independently, not as hospital employees, and Peek said he thinks they'll want to have the option of brining their patients to his facility.
"We've had a lot of physician excitement and engagement around brining Baylor to the McKinney market for a long time," Peek said. "It's just taken a while to come to fruition."
Baylor has owned the land along U.S. 380 that its new hospital is being built on for awhile, Peek said, and the location has the future growth of McKinney in mind. Peek said that the north side of town would become its center over the next 10 years.
According to Baylor, the McKinney campus will create approximately 500 new jobs at "build out". Nurses will be in high demand, as will other licensed medical professionals such as pharmacists, radiologists and laboratory technicians and physical therapists.
Peek said his main focus in the near future will be on building a medical and executive staff, while also keeping in contact with local doctors. Other members of the Baylor-McKinney executive team already hired include Chief Nursing and Operating Officer Melissa Winter-currently the chief nurse at Baylor-Plano, a hospital she helped open-and Chief Financial Officer Steve Roussel, who recently served as vice president of finance at Baylor-Waxahachie.
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