Harris Health is committed to providing high quality care to all residents of Harris County, with a special emphasis of addressing health disparities among vulnerable and medically underserved populations. As part of that commitment, the proposed Trauma Level 1 Hospital was recently named the John M. O’Quinn Hospital and is planned to open in January 2029. The new hospital campus will provide improved care for the medical, social and mental health needs of the northeast communities.

Project Description/Scope:
A 12-story, 1.2 million-square-foot, 390-bed acute care hospital on the LBJ Campus will be built in three phases: H1 (site and structure), H2 (core and shell), and H3 (interior build-out). The hospital will connect to the existing facility via an overhead pedestrian bridge and include an emergency center, diagnostics, lab, pharmacy, nuclear medicine, cardiology, labor and delivery, and an inpatient tower. Two top floors of the tower will be shelled for future expansion to 450 beds.

CONSTRUCTION SITE LIVE WEBCAM

Harris Health invites you to stay connected as we grow. Access the live webcam to see progress on the Lyndon B Johnson Hospital campus.

https://app.oxblue.com/?openlink=mccarthy/lbjhospital

LBJ CAMPUS EXPANSION PROJECT AUGUST 2026

Progress on the new John M. O'Quinn Hospital, Central Utility Plant (CUP), and Parking Garage. The program continues to make significant progress and remains on track toward key milestones over the next several years.

Highlights from this month's report include:

• The Hospital project has surpassed 3.0 million construction man-hours and combined Garage and CUP adds an additional 500,000 man-hours, reflecting the continued commitment and coordination of the entire project team. To date, our overall safety record on the project is outstanding, with a LTIR (Lost Time Incident Rate) of 0.10, which is considered “world-class” performance. By comparison, the national average (benchmark) is 0.8-1.8 LTIR for major commercial and healthcare projects. This places LBJ Expansion in the top 10% for overall safety performance on a project of this size. The on-site construction team is now approaching 1700 workers/daily, demanding increased coordination and diligence to keep workers safe and hydrated.
• Construction activities remain active across all major facilities, with interior wall construction, MEP installation, building envelope completion, elevator systems, and interior finishes advancing throughout the hospital tower.
• Significant exterior milestones have been achieved, including completion of the helipad and entrance canopy structures, substantial completion of the building enclosure, and ongoing work on the bridge connection to the existing LBJ Hospital.
• Medical equipment vendors have completed initial field verification activities, supporting the transition into future equipment installation and activation phases.
• The Central Utility Plant continues to progress with major equipment installation complete, utility infrastructure work advancing, and architectural finishes underway.
• Construction of the Parking Garage remains on schedule, with structural work, utility installations, elevator and stair towers, canopies, and exterior building features continuing to advance.

The overall campus expansion remains on schedule, with the Parking Garage targeted for construction use beginning in 2027 and public opening in the first quarter of 2029, the Central Utility Plant scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2027, and the John M. O'Quinn Hospital anticipated to welcome its first patients in early 2029.

Key Upcoming Milestones

Harris Health invites you to stay connected as we grow. Access the live webcam to see progress on the Lyndon B Johnson Hospital campus. https://app.oxblue.com/?openlink=mccarthy/lbjhospital

It’s been one year since construction began on Harris Health’s new Level I trauma capable hospital on the campus of Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in northeast Houston and already, the future of Harris County healthcare is taking shape. Click to Read More