Florida's Health Central Hospital system continues expansion spree with expanded ER and patient tower
Once renovation is complete, the emergency department will have more than tripled in size, hospital president says.
Rendering of expansion project
Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Florida will open the first phase of a newly reconstructed emergency department this month, and will also begin the renovation of the current emergency department space.
Hospital President Mark Marsh said in a statement that once the renovation is complete, the emergency department will have more than tripled in size, from 15,000 square feet to 54,000 square feet. It will also host 10 additional beds, for a total of 62 patient examination rooms.
Also opening this month is a newly constructed patient tower that will tack on an additional 40 beds.
The tower aligns with floors two through five of the current building and adds a 10-room unit to each floor. Twenty-two rooms will be used to enhance or develop the specialized care units at the hospital. Room additions on the second floor will be used for post-cardiac and vascular catheterization patients, while the third floor will be home to a step-down unit for orthopedic/spine patients and an expanded spine program.
The fourth floor, meanwhile, is targeted for use as an oncology unit providing symptom management and supportive care for cancer patients. The fifth floor will be used for pre- and post-general surgery patients with chronic conditions. The remaining 18 floors eliminate the hospital's semi-private rooms.
A $13.8 million grant awarded by the West Orange Healthcare District in 2014 made the expanded emergency department and bed tower possible. The grant was the second largest in the district's history, and it funded 75 percent of the total expansion costs. Orlando Health, which owns and operates the hospital, kicked in the remaining 25 percent.
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Overall, the expansion project increases Health Central Hospital's bed count from 171 to 211, and enables the further development of specialized care.
Completion of the 40-room expansion complements the hospital's most recent expansion project. Announced in March, that $100 million project -- $75 million of which is funded by the West Orange Healthcare District --is expected by officials to Health Central Hospital into a destination medical campus.
[Also: Updated list of hospital contruction and expansion projects in 2016]
Additions to the Ocoee campus include a 30,000-square-foot comprehensive cancer center with expanded clinical programs and services for family, supportive and holistic care.
A new 100-bed skilled nursing facility will also be coming to Ocoee, and will consist of a 60-bed rehabilitation unit and a 40-bed Alzheimer's unit.
At the hospital's Horizon West location, construction will begin this fall on a 70,000-square-foot building that will feature a freestanding emergency department, outpatient diagnostics and laboratory services, offices for primary care physicians and specialists, and a human performance and wellness center.
Construction on the Ocoee facilities is expected to begin later this year, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018. Construction on the Horizon West project is slated for completion by the end of 2017. Officials say the combination of both construction sites will generate more than 200 new, permanent healthcare jobs and attract other high-caliber healthcare businesses to the area.
Twitter: @JELagasse
