The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) held a special dedication ceremony near the construction site of the UT Health Multispecialty and Research Hospital. The ceremony marked the official announcement of the naming of the soon-to-be completed skybridge. Thanks to the generosity of San Antonio business owners and philanthropists Carlos and Malú Alvarez, the state-of-the-art skybridge will be named Tom C. Frost Skybridge.
Named after the late San Antonio business leader, the Tom C. Frost Skybridge will serve as a vital link, connecting the Multispecialty and Research Hospital to the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. The skybridge will be approximately the length of 1.4 football fields or about two city blocks. It will provide an efficient pathway for medical care, education and research, plus high-tech capabilities enabling lab samples and advanced technology to be delivered safely, securely and quickly between the hospital and cancer center.
Joining the Alvarez family at the dedication ceremony were UT Health San Antonio leaders, and Tom’s son, Don Frost. The skybridge naming honors Frost’s legacy and is a nod to their lifelong friendship.
“Our decision to honor Tom Frost was an easy one,” said Carlos Alvarez, chairman and chief executive officer of The Gambrinus Company. “Tom Frost was one of the first people I met when I established my business in San Antonio many years ago, and he and his family have long been committed to the health of the San Antonio community — both literally and figuratively. Malú and I are pleased and proud to have this opportunity to honor Tom and the Frost family in this way.”
In December of 2022, Carlos and Malú Alvarez committed a total of $5 million to The UT Health Science Center San Antonio, also called UT Health San Antonio. A portion of their gift ($2.5 million) was pledged through the Impetus Foundation for the Hospital Construction Fund, naming the skybridge that would connect the Mays Cancer Center to the new hospital.
Another portion included a $2.5 million pledge to the UT Health San Antonio Transplant Center. The family’s donation was recognized by the University of Texas System Board of Regents, authorizing the Transplant Center to be renamed the Malú and Carlos Alvarez Center for Transplantation, Hepatobiliary Surgery, and Innovation.
This generous support from the Alvarez family will help advance UT Health San Antonio’s translational research activities, including establishing endowed faculty positions, research programs and the construction of the Multispecialty and Research Hospital.
A native of Mexico, Carlos Alvarez is chairman and chief executive officer of The Gambrinus Company, one of the largest independent beer businesses in the United States. Alvarez founded the company in 1986 when he moved his family to San Antonio, Texas. Recognized as a legendary Texas businessman and longstanding philanthropist, Alvarez was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2010.
The late Thomas (Tom) Clayborne Frost was a well-known banker and philanthropist, and the fourth generation of his family to lead Frost National Bank, which was founded in 1868 by his great-grandfather Col. Thomas Claiborne Frost, Sr.
To watch the progress of the skybridge and the construction of the new Multispecialty and Research Hospital, visit uthealthsahospital.org.