University Health takes next step in historic growth plan

This Thursday, University Health will take out the shovels for the fourth time in six months to turn the first dirt for University Health Wheatley, a multi-specialty clinic on the East Side that will also be a second site for our Institute for Public Health. We are checking off and celebrating this latest groundbreaking as we pursue our mission to meet the needs of our growing community.

• University Health Vida
• University Health Palo Alto Hospital
• University Health Retama Hospital
• University Health Wheatley

This newest medical facility, located close to Wheatley Heights and the Wheatley Sports Complex, is being named for Phillis Wheatley, who in the 1700s became an inspiration and role model as the first African American in the United States to publish a book of poems. The three-story, 60,000-square-foot medical office complex is located on the I-10 access road at East Houston Street. When it opens by early 2026, it will offer primary care, specialty care and an urgent care clinic, plus pharmacy, laboratory and radiology services.

Wheatley will also be another location for the University Health Institute for Public Health, including indoor and outdoor spaces designed for community engagement that promote healthy lifestyles and connect area residents with resources where they are needed the most.

“Our vision for this location is to improve access to care, and bring the very latest technologies, specialists and health education resources closer to home for tens of thousands of families,” said George B. Hernández, Jr., president and CEO of University Health. “Inside a beautiful, warm and welcoming building, we will grow comprehensive programs to help address health problems early to reduce the need for emergency room visits and hospitalizations. And here, patients will be connected to University Health’s vast and growing network and electronic health records system to improve care and coordination.”

Both the Wheatley and Vida health centers are being built with the support of the Bexar County Commissioners Court, which allocated $40 million from the American Recovery Plan Act – or ARPA – to support this important expansion of public health resources. Through its work at both locations, the institute will bring key community partners together and use data to direct resources to residents in greatest need, helping them to establish consistent medical care and associated social services to address non-medical drivers of health.

This groundbreaking is more than the start of a construction project. It’s the beginning of a new start for the healthy future of East Side families. 

See University Health Wheatley artist rendering.