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ART AND
MEDICINE

University Health System

100 years of service to the community

By Don Finley, director of external communications, University Health System

The opening of the Robert B. Green Memorial

Hospital a century ago drew a crowd of some

5,000 people who were curious to see what the

newspapers called one of “the most modern and

best-equipped institutions in the south.”

They had reason for a bit of civic pride. The

Robert B. Green, named for a crusading county

judge and state senator, was built with public

funds — the city and county each contributing

half of the $250,000 it cost to build.

When it was discovered there weren’t enough

funds to properly furnish and equip the new hos-

pital, Alexander Joske, owner of Joskes Depart-

ment Store, stepped forward and donated $15,000 The Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital sometime around 1939.
to allow it to open on Feb. 2, 1917.

The reason for that public and private investment was the recog- County Hospital — known today as University Hospital. The med-

nition that San Antonio — the largest city in Texas at the time, and ical school and new hospital were both completed in 1968, affirming

growing larger with an influx of troops massing for the start of World University Health System's role in teaching future generations of

War I and refugees fleeing the Mexican Revolution — very much healthcare professionals.

needed a hospital that would care for all who needed it, regardless University Health System today includes more than two dozen

of their ability to pay. primary care, specialty, preventive and school-based health centers

This year, University Health System is celebrating the centennial throughout the community, including the Robert B. Green Campus

anniversary of its beginnings and taking stock of its history. You — a multi-specialty outpatient center that includes a new, six-story

can read more about that history online at www.universityhealth- clinical pavilion alongside the original historic building.

system.com/100birthday. University Hospital still serves as the primary teaching facility for

The years that followed that promising start were rocky. Funding UT Health San Antonio. In 2014, the million-square-foot Sky Tower

was uncertain — not surprising for a hospital that cared for the poor, was completed, providing one of the most beautiful and technolog-

particularly one whose early years included the Great Depression. ically advanced clinical facilities for children and adults anywhere.

Many of the Green’s programs were forced to close for a time. Both the clinical pavilion and Sky Tower were made possible with

Finally, in 1955, Bexar County voters overwhelmingly approved the approval by Bexar County Commissioners of a bond sale to fund

creation of the Bexar County Hospital District and a property tax the $899 million Capital Improvement Project that would position

to fund it, making it one of the first hospital districts in Texas. Bexar University Health System for the challenges of the decades ahead.

County Commissioners approved its budget and appointed its And as University Health System looks ahead to the next 100

Board of Managers. years, we remain committed to healing, advancing knowledge and

After years of communitywide efforts to bring a medical school discovery, and promoting the good health of the community. And

to San Antonio, the school was finally approved by state lawmakers above all, we strive to be compassionate professionals, fostering a

with the stipulation that a new, state-of-the-art teaching hospital be culture of excellence and treating all who enter our doors with kind-

built nearby. In 1965, construction began on the $15 million Bexar ness and respect.

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