Leaders from the Seton Family of Hospitals, the University of Texas, Austin Community College, and U.T. Medical Branch-Galveston partnered together for the development of the CEC at Brackenridge. The Center provides interdisciplinary, team-based educational experiences for students and graduate trainees in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health as well as health related educational opportunities in fields likes social work and law. The CEC utilizes 14 "human mannequins" that provide real-life exposure to students to aid in diagnosis and treatment simulations.

The 150,000 square foot research facility is currently under construction in the Mueller Development by the University of Texas next to Seton's Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. The Institute is anticipated to become a national center of excellence for children's health and biomedical research – housing research, laboratory and office space – and taking full advantage of one of the world's best children's hospital across the street.

UT Austin has secured approximately 16.5 acres for a future research campus just north of the Dell Children's Medical Center in the Mueller Development and is considering another 16 acres to add to the campus site. Ultimately, the site will encompass approximately 780,000 square feet of space for academic health research in multiple buildings.

The Cancer Center recently announced plans to expand the 381-acre Bastrop campus. The $30 million expansion includes a 73,000 square foot building with offices, laboratories and state-of-the art habitat for animals (complete with waterfalls and tropical plants). Situated between Smithville and Bastrop in the midst of Buescher State Park, the Virginia Harris Cockrell Cancer Research Center, Science Park - Research Division, is a unique component of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. A part of the Central Texas community since 1977, the Science Park - Research Division provides an ideal setting for scientific research, education, conferences and workshops. Since its inception, this campus has developed steadily in size and is now recognized as a world leader in research on carcinogenesis (the origins of cancer) and cancer prevention. Research programs at the Science Park - Research Division can best be described as interactive in their approach and focused on the elucidation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms operative in carcinogenesis. The quality of the research programs can best be judged by the unusually high level of productivity, the success with which the staff secures grant support and the recognition investigators receive both nationally and internationally.

Brackenridge Hospital, a member of the Seton Family of Hospitals, was selected as the only Texas hospital to participate in the pilot phase of a new program by the National Cancer Institutes of Health (NCI) that, if fully implemented, will help bring state-of-the-art cancer care to patients in community hospitals across the United States. Brackenridge is one of three Ascension Health sites and one of 14 sites nationwide named by NCI to participate in a three-year pilot for the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP). The sites will be funded for a collective total of $5 million per year. The program is designed to encourage the collaboration of private-practice medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists -- with close links to NCI research and to the network of 63 NCI-designated Cancer Centers principally based at large research universities.

Texas A&M University has funds allocated for the construction of a Health Science Center to house a two-year clinical program. Construction is anticipated to commence in 2008. The University has future plans to eventually establish a four-year program in Williamson County. In the meantime, Texas A&M has leased approximately 5,000 square feet of space for the clinical campus. Texas A&M University's board of regents has accepted a 15-acre donation from the Avery family for the Center. The University has plans to purchase 10 acres with an option for another 25 acres in the future.

The University has $35 million allocated to build a new nursing school in Round Rock.

In conjunction with UT Austin, a family wellness center opened in 2007 providing primary medical care for Travis County residents who are without private insurance. The center serves as a training ground for University of Texas School of Nursing students.

Research

BioAustin.com
AustinChamber.com    AustinHumanCapital.com     TakeOnTraffic.com
210 Barton Springs Road, Suite 400 | Austin, TX 78704
P: 512.478.9383 | F: 512.478.6389