Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth is gearing up for a major vertical expansion of its Justin Tower that will shift and enlarge Women’s Services, add dozens of high-acuity patient rooms and boost the hospital’s neonatal capacity. The plan calls for four new floors to be added atop the existing tower, the build-out of previously shelled floors for inpatient care, and a new surgical trauma progressive care unit that officials say is slated to open this year. Hospital leaders are also planning a separate NICU enlargement that will add private beds and keep neonatal care tied to Cook Children’s via the existing skybridge.
What the new floors will house
In a press release via Texas Health Resources, officials said the top two new floors will become the Jane and John Justin Center for Women & Infants, home to labor and delivery, a nursery, dedicated operating rooms, and antepartum, postpartum, and gynecology rooms. Moving Women’s Services into Justin Tower is intended to give expectant parents larger, more modern spaces and quicker access to the campus’s surgical suites and specialty services.
Rooms, staffing and the unfinished floors
State project records show the hospital has finished out previously shelled space on Levels 4 and 5 into a universal-care layout with 36 beds on each floor, for 72 rooms total, and lists the inspection as complete. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation documents back up that finish-out, while private coverage of the announcement notes the work will create a Surgical Trauma Progressive Care Unit for patients recovering from traumatic injury or complex surgery.
How newborn care will change
The system also plans a separate NICU expansion that will add 32 private beds, increasing total neonatal capacity to 86, and keep the unit in the Jones Tower to maintain proximity to the skybridge with Cook Children’s Medical Center. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the NICU work is scheduled to begin after the Justin Tower vertical build is finished and is expected to open in 2030.
Relocating urgent obstetrics and patient experience
Hospital documents and coverage say the Obstetrics Emergency Department will move from the ground floor of the Bloxom Tower into Justin Tower with its own dedicated entrance, a change Texas Health says is designed to streamline care for mom-and-baby emergencies. In a statement to Fort Worth Inc., Jared Shelton, president of Texas Health Fort Worth, said mothers will receive “comprehensive and quality care in a modern, comfortable environment with enhanced amenities and panoramic views of the city.”
Timeline and the broader buildout
Texas Health says the tower will remain open during construction, and the vertical expansion is expected to be completed in 2029. At the same time, the system is finishing lower floors and hiring staff: the health system’s careers pages list the Justin Tower inpatient floors as opening this summer and show multiple posted roles tied directly to the expansion. Texas Health frames the project as part of a broader North Texas growth plan that includes new and upgraded facilities across the region.
Local outlets first reported the announcement and shared renderings and timelines this week as hospital leaders presented project details to the public. The Fort Worth Report and other regional coverage provide the initial reporting and community reaction to the plan, which officials say is intended to keep capacity in step with Fort Worth’s rapid population growth.
