A major transformation of maternal and neonatal care is continuing at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, where the Hendrick BirthPlace expansions is moving into another phase of The BirthPlace expansion is planned on the hospital’s fourth floor.
The latest plans call for a $31.5 million renovation spanning 36,175 square feet at Hendrick Medical Center, 1900 Pine Street. The project would bring women’s and children’s services together. Plans include a 33-bed neonatal intensive care unit, six new postpartum beds and seven antepartum beds.
But the construction is only one part of a much larger change in how Hendrick delivers care to mothers and babies across Abilene and West Central Texas.
Hendrick Is Bringing Maternal and Neonatal Care Together
Hendrick Health announced earlier this year that it would consolidate its Abilene labor-and-delivery and neonatal services at Hendrick Medical Center on Pine Street.
The transition became operational June 1, when labor-and-delivery and neonatal services previously offered at Hendrick Medical Center South moved to the north campus.
Hendrick said concentrating those services in one location would bring specialized teams and advanced technology together while expanding access to maternal and neonatal care for families across the region.
The BirthPlace at Hendrick already includes labor and delivery, an OB Emergency Department and a Level III NICU.
Now, the next phase provides a clearer picture of how much that operation could grow.
Hendrick BirthPlace Expansion Includes a 33-Bed NICU
The fourth-floor project calls for 33 NICU beds, making neonatal care one of the most significant pieces of the expansion.
A current neonatal-care directory lists Hendrick Medical Center’s Level III NICU at 25 beds. If that figure remains current, the planned configuration would provide room for eight additional NICU beds, representing roughly a 32% increase in capacity.
The NICU serves premature and critically ill newborns who need specialized medical care after birth.
The project also calls for six new postpartum beds and seven antepartum beds as Hendrick continues consolidating women’s and children’s services on the fourth floor.
Women’s and Children’s Care Under One Roof
The layout of Hendrick Medical Center helps explain the broader strategy.
The BirthPlace, OB Emergency Department and labor-and-delivery services are located on the fourth floor of the Jones Building.
Directly above them on the fifth floor is Hendrick Children’s Hospital, a 20-bed pediatric hospital that also includes a three-bed pediatric intensive care unit.
That arrangement places maternal, neonatal and pediatric services within the same building as Hendrick expands the fourth-floor operation.
For families who need several levels of specialized care, that concentration brings services ranging from pregnancy and delivery to neonatal and pediatric care into one medical campus.
Hendrick BirthPlace Expansion Builds on Earlier Work
The Hendrick BirthPlace expansion builds on an earlier phase of construction at Hendrick Medical Center.
Previous plans called for additional labor-and-delivery rooms, triage areas and recovery space as the hospital prepared for the consolidation.
Those earlier filings reference a $27.3 million project estimate. However, multiple Phase 1 filings use the same estimated cost, so Texas Construction Media is not treating those amounts as separate projects or combining them with the latest $31.5 million phase.
Hendrick has not publicly identified a total investment for the entire BirthPlace transformation.
Changes Could Create More Room at Hendrick South
Moving maternal and neonatal services north also creates opportunities elsewhere in Hendrick’s Abilene hospital system.
Hendrick has said the South campus will remain open. Space previously used for maternal and neonatal care there can instead support other hospital needs.
Hendrick says the repurposed space could support other growing hospital needs. Those include acute-care admissions and surgical volumes at Hendrick Medical Center South.
The BirthPlace consolidation could therefore affect capacity at both Abilene campuses. Pine Street would gain expanded maternal and neonatal care, while the south campus would gain space for other services.
Construction Could Continue Into 2029
Hendrick originally said construction and renovations associated with the consolidation were expected to conclude in early 2028.
The newly registered fourth-floor phase lists an estimated construction schedule from October 2026 through March 2029.
The later date suggests work associated with the broader transformation could continue beyond the timeline initially announced. It does not necessarily indicate a delay, as the new filing covers a specific additional phase of the project.
For Abilene families, the Hendrick BirthPlace expansion is ultimately about what the hospital is building toward: a more concentrated maternal, neonatal and pediatric care hub designed to serve patients from across West Central Texas.