Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital has announced a major expansion.

Jerry Ashworth is the senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Cypress and Memorial Hermann Katy hospitals.

Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital has announced a major expansion.

Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Center is open to receive patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

As Katy grows, so does its Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital.

Jerry Ashworth, the senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Katy and Memorial Hermann Cypress hospitals, made the announcement of a planned expansion in a news release.

“Our community continues to grow and we are committed to grow with it, just as we have for the last 40 years,” Ashworth said. “However, I would like to point out that this expansion goes far beyond the addition of physical space to accommodate more patients. It is also strategically focused on growing specialty and surgical care so that residents can depend on us to support their healthcare needs, from routine outpatient visits to complex inpatient procedures, in their own community.”

Citing figures from the Katy Area Economic Development Council, the growth of the greater Katy area is expected to be about 440,000 people by 2024.

The announced hospital expansion has a price tag of $167 million “that will add 115,000-square-feet of new and renovated service areas, nearly 100 beds, a third professional office building, and additional parking, including a parking garage, to better serve the greater Katy area’s growing population.”

The expansion of the Katy location is already underway with the first phase including space on the fifth and sixth floors of the hospital’s East Tower.

“Eighty medical/surgical patient beds and six antepartum beds are being added, bringing the hospital’s total bed count to close to 300,” according to a news release. “Plans also include the addition of two new operating rooms, four neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) rooms and an expansion of the cardiac catheterization lab.”

Memorial Hermann reports that following phases will include the expansion of the Level III Trauma Center Emergency Department. The expansion will double the size of the department to 40,000 square feet with “additional treatment rooms, including two state-of-the-art trauma rooms, space for more CT scanners, upgraded equipment and more.”

The plans also call for the expansion in the “areas of trauma and critical care medicine, neurosurgery, vascular surgery, thoracic surgery and more to better respond to the emergent needs of those who live and work in and around Katy.”

“The Emergency Department often functions as the first point of entry for patients who come to Memorial Hermann Katy in times of severe illness or as a result of traumatic injury,” said Vivien Bond, vice president and COO of Memorial Hermann Katy. “This expansion - both in size and increased capabilities - will enable us to better serve these patients by providing the full spectrum of quality care right here in our community.”

Other plans include the overhaul of Women’s Services, including “relocating the nursery and adding labor and delivery rooms, a cesarean section (C-section) suite and doubling the number of obstetrical emergency rooms.”

The Ironman Sports Medicine Institute at Memorial Hermann Sports Park-Katy and the Memorial Hermann Breast Care Center are also expanding.

The growth of the hospital has been an ongoing endeavor that includes a “24/7 pediatric emergency department and inpatient unit, as well as the Memorial Hermann Sports Park-Katy, a full-range sports medicine facility that provides medical care and athletic training.”

With the expansion of the hospital, more employees will be needed to staff departments including clinical and administrative. For more information go to www.memorialhermann.org/careers. More volunteers are also be sought by going to www.memorialhermann.org/locations/katy/volunteer.

According to the Katy EDC, the hospital currently has about 1,100 employees.

Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital is “rated high performing in four adult procedures and conditions,” according to U.S. News and World Reports.

For more information on Memorial Hermann Katy, call 713-222-CARE (2273) or visit www.memorialhermann.org.