Methodist Hospital Westover Hills Plans $45 Million Expansion, Adding 51 Beds on San Antonio’s Far West Side

Methodist Hospital Westover Hills plans a $45 million expansion that will add 51 new beds while enlarging its emergency and imaging departments, according to updated information reported by the San Antonio Report. The investment would substantially increase capacity at the hospital, which opened in 2024 at 5106 West Loop 1604 North and currently operates with 56 beds.

The expansion is particularly notable for residents along the Loop 1604, Highway 151 and Westover Hills corridors, where continued residential and commercial growth has increased demand for health care closer to home. Once the new beds are added, the hospital would have room for 42 additional inpatient beds as well as nine more emergency room beds.

For a relatively new hospital, the project represents a significant early expansion—and another indication that health care providers are positioning themselves for continued growth across western San Antonio.

42 New Inpatient Beds Planned for Fourth Floor

A major portion of the Methodist Hospital Westover Hills expansion will take place on the building’s fourth floor.

The hospital was originally constructed with unfinished shell space intended to accommodate future growth. That space is now expected to be built out to add 42 inpatient beds, according to Methodist’s plans.

Those beds would significantly increase the hospital’s ability to admit and care for patients who need to remain in the hospital following surgery, emergency treatment or other medical care.

The fourth-floor buildout is also identified in a state construction filing for the project.

That filing, titled ED / Imaging Expansion and Level 04 Buildout, lists approximately 44,939 square feet of additions to the existing hospital and an estimated construction cost of $30 million. The scope includes expansion of the emergency and imaging departments along with completion of the fourth-floor shell space.

While that filing lists a $30 million construction value, Methodist’s updated figure for the broader expansion is $45 million, encompassing the additional inpatient beds, emergency room expansion and imaging improvements. The San Antonio Report noted that its Aug. 27 story was corrected specifically to reflect the updated investment amount and total bed count.

Emergency Department Will Add Nine Beds

Emergency care is another major piece of the project.

Methodist plans to add nine emergency room beds and approximately 12,000 square feet of new emergency department space at the Westover Hills campus. The imaging department will also be expanded as part of the overall project.

For nearby families, additional emergency capacity could be one of the most noticeable aspects of the investment.

Emergency departments serve patients experiencing everything from serious injuries and sudden illnesses to chest pain, breathing difficulties and other conditions requiring immediate evaluation. More treatment rooms can give a hospital additional flexibility as the number of patients it serves increases.

The added imaging space is also significant because diagnostic services such as X-rays, CT scans and other imaging often play a central role in emergency treatment, surgery and inpatient care.

A Young Hospital Growing Alongside West San Antonio

Methodist Hospital Westover Hills opened in 2024, making it one of the newer additions to San Antonio’s health care landscape.

Its location along West Loop 1604 places it near some of the most active residential corridors on the city’s western side, serving neighborhoods stretching through Westover Hills and the broader Far West Side.

The hospital opened with a capacity of 56 beds, meaning the planned addition of 51 beds represents a major increase in the number of patients the campus will ultimately be able to accommodate.

The hospital’s fourth-floor shell space also shows that future growth was contemplated when the facility was originally developed. Rather than adding an entirely new patient tower, Methodist can now convert space already incorporated into the building for additional inpatient rooms.

That strategy can allow hospital capacity to grow alongside the surrounding population rather than requiring a completely separate facility.

Part of Methodist Healthcare’s Largest Expansion Yet

The Westover Hills investment is not happening in isolation.

Methodist Healthcare is in the midst of what the health system has described as the largest expansion in its history, with approximately $450 million in renovations and additions underway across its San Antonio network. The system operates 11 hospitals in the region.

That broader expansion reflects the continuing competition among major San Antonio health systems to add hospital beds, emergency services, outpatient facilities and specialty care as the metropolitan area grows.

Methodist also recently expanded its presence outside traditional hospital campuses. Earlier in August, the system acquired 18 Texas MedClinic urgent care locations in San Antonio, further extending its network of neighborhood-level care.

For West Side residents, the expansion of Methodist Hospital Westover Hills brings that larger health care investment directly into their part of the city.

What the $45 Million Expansion Means for Residents

The numbers are substantial, but the local impact is relatively straightforward: more beds mean the hospital can care for more people.

The addition of 42 inpatient beds and nine emergency beds would bring the project’s total new bed count to 51. Those additional rooms could provide more capacity as the Far West Side continues adding residents, businesses and housing.

That can matter particularly during periods when hospitals experience heavier patient volumes, including seasonal illnesses or other spikes in emergency demand.

It can also give physicians and hospital staff more flexibility when patients need to transition from the emergency department into inpatient care.

For residents who once had to travel farther into San Antonio for certain hospital services, the continued growth of the Westover Hills campus reflects a broader shift toward bringing major medical care closer to rapidly developing neighborhoods.

Two Construction Timelines Appear in Public Information

There is also an important distinction between the timeline reported for the broader hospital expansion and the schedule listed in the state construction filing.

Methodist told the San Antonio Report that construction on the expansion is expected to begin by the end of 2026 and be completed by the end of 2027.

The state filing for the ED, imaging and fourth-floor buildout lists a construction period beginning Feb. 4, 2027, with anticipated completion on Oct. 6, 2028.

The differing dates could reflect separate phases, filing schedules or components of the larger expansion. As additional permits and construction plans are finalized, the timing of each portion of the project may become clearer.

What Happens Next

Residents traveling along Loop 1604 can expect Methodist Hospital Westover Hills to remain an active construction site as the campus moves into its next stage of development.

The expansion will ultimately increase inpatient capacity, grow emergency care and provide additional imaging space at a hospital that has only been open for about two years.

That rapid growth says something about both the hospital and the community surrounding it.

San Antonio’s Far West Side is no longer simply an area preparing for future population growth. Much of that growth has already arrived, bringing schools, shopping centers, housing and now increasingly significant investments in health care infrastructure.

The $45 million Methodist Hospital Westover Hills expansion is another step in that evolution, giving nearby residents more access to emergency and hospital care without requiring them to travel as far across the city.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for updates as construction plans move forward at Methodist Hospital Westover Hills.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.