University Health
University Health, officially the Bexar County Hospital District, is a public governmental entity and the primary safety-net health system for Bexar County, Texas, encompassing San Antonio and surrounding areas.[1] Established in 1917 as the Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital with funding from the city and county, it has operated for over a century as one of the nation's early charity hospitals, funded primarily through county property taxes approved by voters in 1955 to ensure stable support for indigent care.[2] Today, it functions as an academic medical center with two teaching hospitals—University Hospital, a Level I trauma center, and the Women's & Children's Hospital—and a network of over two dozen outpatient facilities, including neighborhood health centers and specialized campuses like the Robert B. Green Campus.[1] Affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University Health trains medical professionals while delivering comprehensive services in trauma, cancer, stroke, transplant, and pediatric care, handling significant uncompensated care volumes as Bexar County's designated provider for the uninsured and underinsured.[1] Key expansions include the 1968 completion of Bexar County Hospital alongside the UT medical school, the 1994 rebranding to University Health amid community clinic growth, the 1999 opening of the Texas Diabetes Institute, and recent additions like the 2014 Sky Tower for advanced treatments and ongoing projects such as new community hospitals on the city's south and east sides to address surging demand.[2] Achievements encompass repeated Magnet designations for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recognition as San Antonio's most preferred hospital, top operational honors for its Hospital at Home program, and consistent naming as a top workplace, reflecting operational resilience despite challenges from population growth and high safety-net burdens.[1][3][4] While praised for innovations and expansions, the system has faced localized criticisms over patient wait times, care incidents like a 2020 jail-related overdose settlement, and debates on service prioritization in underserved areas, underscoring the pressures of serving as a public safety-net amid rising needs.[5][6]