The first practices to open in the new Medical Arts & Research Center building will include family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, geriatrics, orthopedics, plastic and vascular surgery, physical therapy and pulmonary medicine.
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UT Medicine San Antonio, the medical practice of the School of Medicine faculty, will begin moving into its new home — the Medical Arts & Research Center building — later this month.

The $106 million, state-of-the-art building called the “MARC” for short, will bring together more than 200 faculty doctors from 60 medical specialties and subspecialties.

The MARC and its new 600-car parking garage are located at 8300 Floyd Curl Drive, just around the corner from the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science Center and across from the Greehey Academic and Research Campus.

Better patient care
The building was designed to make visits to the doctor more comfortable and efficient for patients. All clinics will use a new electronic medical records system, allowing doctors to share patients’ medical histories quickly and easily to coordinate care.

“Consolidating the majority of our medical practices together in one location is a major step toward providing better care for our patients,” said Thomas C. Mayes, M.D., M.B.A., chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and chief executive officer of UT Medicine San Antonio.

“This will be especially beneficial for patients who have complex medical problems,” Dr. Mayes said. “For example, a patient with diabetes might need to see an endocrinologist, cardiologist, nephrologist and podiatrist. Having all the doctors in one location where they can interact electronically and in person will go a long way toward improving patient care.”

“UT Medicine and its new clinical home will be wonderful complements to community physicians, who will be invited to refer their complex patients to our specialists and subspecialists representing more than 60 branches of medicine,” said Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., M.A.C.P. “We believe the medical and general community will enjoy the increased interaction with School of Medicine physicians.”

Thomas C. Mayes, M.D., M.B.A., chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, is chief executive officer of UT Medicine San Antonio, the medical practice of the School of Medicine faculty.

Dr. Mayes added, “In the market needs assessment we conducted as we planned the MARC, we examined school district data regarding projected growth. We concluded there is easily so much projected population growth that the MARC will not compete with the private practice community. Rather, we will be a great complement to private practice physicians through referrals to our specialists.”

Carlayne Jackson, M.D., professor in the Department of Neurology, is the chief medical officer for UT Medicine San Antonio and Dale Flowers is the chief administrative officer.

First clinics to open on Aug. 24
The first practices to move into the MARC are those that have been located at the Diagnostic Pavilion on Medical Drive. Physicians in the specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, geriatrics, orthopedics, plastic and vascular surgery, physical therapy, pulmonary medicine and others will begin seeing patients at the MARC on Aug. 24. A complete move-in schedule can be viewed at the UT Medicine Web site.

Clinics housed at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Northwest, University Hospital and other locations will be moving into the building throughout the fall. The seventh and eighth floors of the MARC will be academic offices primarily for the Departments of Neurology and Otolaryngology.

State-of-the-art equipment
The MARC will feature all new state-of-the-art equipment for its operating rooms and Diagnostic Imaging Center, which include full CT scan and full MRI capabilities, as well as bone density scanning, X-ray and ultrasound.

For same-day surgery and simple procedures, there will be four operating rooms and two endoscopic procedure rooms with space to add more rooms in the future. The surgery center has separate elevators for easy and discrete access for patients and their families.

The first floor, which will house family medicine, internal medicine and geriatrics, will also be the location of a café and a full-service pharmacy, both scheduled to open in October.

Making appointments
The main phone number for UT Medicine San Antonio is (210) 450-9000. Individual clinic phone numbers are available at the Web site, www.UTMedicine.org.