Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX
Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX
Q4 2010 - Market Summary
The near term demand for health care workers in the Houston metropolitan area remained steady during the fourth quarter. Of note, St, Luke’s opened a new 106-bed facility at The Vintage, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center announced plans for a $92-million expansion and renovation project beginning next summer, and Texas Childrens opened a new neurological research institute.
On a comparative basis, the Houston health care labor market remained solid during Q4 registering a Q4 LMPI score of 49.9, up 1% from the prior quarter and inline with the national composite of 49.8.
Q4 Workforce Announcements
St. Luke’s opens new Houston hospital. December 9, 2010
St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System has opened its newest hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital at The Vintage. St. Luke’s Hospital at The Vintage houses 106 beds, five operating rooms and cardiac catheterization services, as well as 14 labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites.
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2010/12/09/st-lukes-opens-new-houston-hospital.html
Texas Children’s opens research institute. December 9, 2010
Texas Children’s Hospital has opened the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, the worlds’ first basic research institute dedicated to childhood neurological diseases. The institute is directed by Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and one of the world’s most renowned neurogeneticists. Joining her are 15 investigators and their research teams of 150 scientists recruited from around the world.
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2010/12/08/texas-childrens-opens-research.html
Clear Lake Med Center in $92M expansion. December 7, 2010
Clear Lake Regional Medical Center will undergo a $92-million expansion and renovation project beginning next summer. The expansion will include a new 154,470-square-foot patient tower which will house pre-operating, operating and recovery rooms as well as a 30-bed adult intensive care unit.
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2010/12/07/clear-lake-med-center-in-42m-expansion.html
Medical Center’s brand expands west. December 4, 2010
Houston developer David Wolff and the Urban Land Institute hosted an event recently celebrating the westward expansion of the Texas Medical Center beyond its central campus.
The expansion has the same branding as the main campus in terms of signs, landscaping and architectural quality of the buildings. When its emergency center and hospital services open in the spring, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus will have a 294,000-square-foot inpatient facility and five-story, 221,000-square-foot outpatient clinic building, which opens in December. The Methodist West Houston Hospital consists of a 478,500-square-foot full-service hospital, as well as a six-story, 150,000-square-foot medical office building. All available space in Methodist’s medical office buildings is committed, and the hospital is already under way with plans for its next building. The new campus represents an initial investment of more than half a billion dollars and nearly 1.2 million square feet by Texas Children’s and Methodist.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sarnoff/7323891.html
Park Plaza Hospital responds to aging trend with ER unit for seniors. October 10, 2010
Park Plaza Hospital and Medical Center has opened a new senior emergency department to meet the needs of a growing elderly demographic in the urban area. The hospital, a 444-bed acute care facility has existing partnerships with local nursing homes and senior living facilities.
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/10/11/story8.html
Hospitals and Health Systems

Source: US News & World Report
Education Program Expansions and Closures
St. Thomas receives $3M nursing program grant. November 23, 2010
The University of St. Thomas said Tuesday that it has received a $3.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support the reopening of its nursing school and its goal of attracting more Hispanic and low-income students. Pending approval by the St. Thomas board of directors and the Texas Board of Nursing, the university hopes to begin enrolling nursing students in the fall of 2012.
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2010/11/23/st-thomas-receives-3m-nursing.html
Education Programs
Source: The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
Health of the Local Economy
Lower home ownership rates reduce the impact of home price fluctuations and increase the willingness of healthcare employees to relocate for better job opportunities. Below are home ownership rates for the overall Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX market.
Source: www.census.gov accessed 1/5/2011
The recent rising unemployment rates create new demands for health services. Higher unemployment shifts the mix away from higher margin procedures to more primary care in the emergency room and critical care for conditions that should have been treated early at a primary care physician. In general, rising unemployment also reduces turnover and engagement of employed workers, while low unemployment tends to increase intra market churn. Below are unemployment rates for the overall Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX market.
Source: www.bls.gov accessed 1/5/2011
Additional Factors Influencing HWS Labor Market PulseTM Index
- U.S. Census Bureau Population 5,728,143, #6 largest market
- U.S. Census Bureau Population 309th oldest market
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Growth 21.5%, #34 fastest growing market
- Executive Summary
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