Undeterred by pushback from the military community, Methodist Hospital is moving forward with plans to upgrade its trauma designation and receive severely injured patients in San Antonio.
The Texas Department of State Health Services received notification from the San Antonio hospital on Oct. 16 that it intends to seek an upgraded trauma designation in the fall of 2027, a DSHS spokesperson confirmed.
The American College of Surgeons will review the hospital, located in the South Texas Medical Center, that fall and issue a report. DSHS will then review the report and the hospital’s compliance to state designation requirements and determine if it meets the requirements for upgraded status.
If approved, the hospital’s upgraded trauma status will pull trauma patients away from the city’s Level I trauma facilities at University Hospital and Brooke Army Medical Center.
San Antonio City Council and the Bexar County Commissioners Court brought up resolutions concerned with how the hospital’s plan to pursue Level II status on Oct. 1 would impact BAMC, which is the U.S. Defense Department’s only Level I trauma center, a point of pride for the city.
Methodist Hospital is one of 11 hospitals operated by the Methodist Healthcare System, which is operated by a 50-50 partnership between Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas and Nashville-based company HCA Healthcare. The hospital system declined an interview request.
University Health leadership has been vocal in its opposition to Methodist’s plans. The topic was discussed briefly Tuesday evening at the hospital system’s monthly board meeting.
Andrew Smith, vice president of government relations and public policy at University Health, said he has been involved in recent briefings with local stakeholders about the importance of BAMC in the regional trauma system and the U.S. military more broadly.
“(We’re) trying to educate and inform individuals about the regional trauma system, how that works, our partnership with the Brooke Army Medical Center and the importance of that,” Smith said, “not just to this community but to the nation, because so many of their trauma surgeons are trained there.”
University Health and BAMC work together in partnership with STRAC to split the region’s trauma patients. The hospitals are designated to treat patients with severe injuries from gunshot wounds, car wrecks, severe burns and other life-threatening trauma.
An upgraded Methodist facility would divert some of those patients to Methodist Hospital. Local officials worry this will negatively impact patient volumes at BAMC, impacting its ability to train military personnel, and ultimately could lead to Pentagon officials pursuing an upgraded Level I trauma center elsewhere.
“There was some discussion about which facilities could potentially meet those needs,” District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears said in an interview with the Report this month.
She and other city officials have made several trips to Washington D.C. to discuss the issue with military leaders there.
“This is a worldwide operation,” said Jimmy Hasslocher, chair of the hospital district’s board of managers. “It’s not just city, state, county — it’s worldwide because of the amount of (physicians) that are trained and (sent) across the globe.”
While City Council tabled its resolution, the Commissioner’s Court unanimously approved a resolution intended to protect BAMC’s military readiness mission in an Oct. 13 meeting.
“Our ability to care for a sufficient volume and range of trauma patients enables military physicians, nurses, medics and other clinicians to develop and sustain the life-saving skills required for combat casualties,” said BAMC’s commander, Col. Kevin Kelly at the meeting.
The San Antonio Report’s military and veterans coverage is supported by Report for America.
