Hospital Opening

The State Tuberculosis Hospital opened in 1953 with 408 beds to care for patients from around Central and South Texas. In 1955, 550 additional beds were added and by 1959, the 958-bed State TB Hospital was the largest among the 21 TB sanatoria in Texas and one of the largest TB sanatoria in the United States.

Hospital Re-designation

The need for tuberculosis hospital care in the United States diminished with the introduction of more effective antibiotic therapy that could be managed on an outpatient basis, prompting most TB sanatoria to close during the 1960s and 1970s. In February 1972, the State Tuberculosis Hospital was re-designated as the San Antonio State Chest Hospital, and its mission was changed to include treatment for chronic respiratory disease, utilizing 150 inpatient beds and extensive outpatient services. 

Transfer of TB Hospital Buildings

In 1978, treatment of other medical and surgical disorders referred from Health Department affiliates was undertaken. Additionally, during this timeframe, many of the state TB hospital buildings were transferred to the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to be used for the San Antonio State School (now organized in the State Hospitals Section, Department of State Health Services) and referred to as the San Antonio State Supported Living Center.  

Center Name Change

In 1994, the Legislature approved a name change designating the facility the Texas Center for Infectious Disease and clearly included TCID in the organizational structure of the Texas Department of Health (now organized in the State Hospitals Section, Department of State Health Services).

New Construction

In 1998, the Legislature authorized the Texas Department of Health to plan and construct new patient care facilities and to contract with the University of Texas System for medical management and transfer of a research laboratory to UTHSCSA. The 75-bed replacement facility, the largest new construction of its kind in over 50 years, started in 2009 and was completed in late 2010. 

New State-of the-art Hospital

In April of 2011, TCID patients were transferred to the new, state-of-the-art hospital. TCID is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and is also a Medicare-certified Specialty Long Term Care Hospital.