Jim Reed, who has served as president for almost 25 years of the foundation that established the Medical Center, announced his retirement Friday.
Reed, 84, will stay on until his successor is chosen. Stephanie Chandler, San Antonio Medical Foundation board chairwoman, said the foundation will form a search committee to find his replacement.
Said Reed in a statement, “I have had a long career in San Antonio, in a variety of leadership positions, but I feel being president of the foundation has made the most impact. I enjoy coming to work each day, tackling new challenges.”
During his tenure, which began in 1999, the foundation has grown “substantially, on all fronts,” including the number of acres it manages in the South Texas Medical Center, its endowment and the number of health care institutions serving the region. Additionally, the foundation’s endowment awards more than $1 million in annual research grants to local collaborating institutions.
The Medical Center generated almost $12 billion in revenue in 2022, according to a an economic impact study commissioned by the foundation, and supported more than 86,000 jobs that paid $5 billion in wages. That’s almost a quarter of the health care and bioscience sector’s $44 billion impact on the San Antonio area economy.
The industry was still feeling the effects of the pandemic during the study period, Reed noted, making the 36% growth since 2018 a heartening surprise.
The foundation was formed 76 years ago to steward the creation and expansion of the Medical Center. The University of Texas Health Science Center, now known as UT Health San Antonio, was established as the educational anchor of the center.
Today, the Medical Center includes University Health, which is nearly finished with its new $573.7 million Women’s & Children’s Hospital; Methodist Hospital System; Baptist Hospital System; Christus Hospital System and the Veterans Administration Hospital, plus other specialty hospitals, clinics, laboratories and private practices.
Reed has witnessed major expansions and additions within the Medical Center, including UT Health’s nearly $500 million Multispecialty and Research Hospital, scheduled to open next year, and the expansion of the Mays Cancer Center, University Hospital and Methodist Hospital, as well as the addition of the Medical Arts and Research Center, the UT Dentistry Center for Oral Health Care and Research, the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute and the Life Care and San Antonio Rehabilitation Hospitals.
The foundation still owns 220 undeveloped acres within the Medical Center, meaning there is still plenty of room to grow. And the foundation under Reed worked with CPS Energy to make sure the center has its own dedicated power generation.
“Jim has been a central contributing force to the sustained progress of our
community’s health care and the world-class research in the life sciences that takes place in San Antonio,” Chandler said in a statement. “He has been a steady influence on the foundation through its significant transformation. Fortunately, Jim will continue serving as president until July 2024, if needed, providing adequate time to find a successor who will continue his strong leadership.”
