Baylor Scott & White celebrating 10 years with expansions, keeping residents close to home

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Baylor Scott & White Health is celebrating 10 years of having its hospital in College Station.

With four times the staff they had a decade ago and over 14,000 babies delivered, Baylor Scott & White Regional President Jason Jennings says this is just the beginning.

“Doctors and nurses, and therapists 2,000 plus strong staff members serving each patient one at a time,” he said. “That’s what brings so much joy to me.”

As they celebrated during a luncheon at the hospital, a crane sat out front working on one of the many expansions planned for Baylor Scott and White in College Station.

“We’ve actually doubled the number of patients that we serve in our Hospitals and Clinics and our region…We’re the only level three NICU-designated Hospital, meaning we can take care of babies down to 24 weeks of birth, as well as we’re magnet designated, which is the gold standard for nursing,” Jennings said. “You can see a lot of dirt moving around on this 96-acre campus with Baylor Scott & White Health. We’ve got a new medical office building this $68 million commitment. We’ll expand services such as sleep medicine Rehab Services, as well as a new Ambulatory Surgery Center.”

This is in addition to a recently up-and-running Wellness Center, and a Primary Care Clinic slated to open next month in Wellborn.

But, these expansions mean much more to patients than just medical care. For one Brazos Valley couple, it’s being close to family. When Brandon and Taylor Carlson found out they were having triplets, it was shocking.

“The ‘what if’s’ of being across the state or two hours away at Texas Children’s or, you know, what would we do if one came home and two were still in the NICU and driving back and forth?” they said.

Expansions mean much more than just medical care for one Brazos Valley couple, it’s being close to family

Luckily, this wasn’t the case. These were the first triplets born in the brand new level three NICU in College Station, close to home.

“All the experiences that we had, all the appointments that we had. There are a lot of them when it comes to having multiples. At no point, did we feel overwhelmed or that we were walking this path alone,” they said.

When the NICU told the Carlsons they were ready to take care of the babies at any stage, staff took the couple on a tour. This included multiple rooms filled with equipment and incubators needed for each stage of birth.

“We delivered at 34 [weeks], which is really far for triplets,” Taylor said. “Because I wasn’t as stressed about after delivery, I think it really enabled me to make it as far as I possibly could.”