AdventHealth to Open New Hospital in Winter Haven; Orlando Health to Expand Into Lakeland
by PAUL CATALA
Healthcare facilities are expanding at an astounding rate to match the population boom and increased need in Central Florida.
AdventHealth is expanding its footprint in Polk County with a new four-story hospital and emergency department off Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven. In Lakeland, Orlando Health is expanding, planning a hospital and surrounding campus in the fast-growing South Lakeland area.
This planned construction is further evidence of the growth in Polk County, which expanded from 603,000 residents in 2010 to 753,500 by 2021.
AdventHealth, a Seventh-Day Adventist nonprofit healthcare system headquartered in Altamonte Springs, recently announced its plans for a new, four-story hospital in Winter Haven.
The 42 acres north of Cypress Gardens Boulevard, south of River Lake and west of Cypress Gardens Road will eventually become a medical campus for the 192-bed AdventHealth Winter Haven hospital with an emergency department and 160,000 square feet of medical offices and ancillary facilities.
The AdventHealth expansion plans were given final approval when the Winter Haven City Commission unanimously approved the development November 14.
“The southeast section of Winter Haven is growing in leaps and bounds, and this will make it a lot easier when time is sensitive for medical issues for the citizens to get medical care,” says Winter Haven City Commissioner J.P. Powell.
“It’s necessary. The other alternative was going to Lake Wales or Haines City, and with medical issues. time is of the essence. It will be a real asset.”
According to AdventHealth, the first phase of construction will include a freestanding emergency room that will open before the hospital is completed. Once open, hospital services will include primary care, cardiology, gastroenterology, orthopedic, and urological specialty medical services.
Tim Clark, president and CEO of the AdventHealth Polk Market, has worked at AdventHealth for 19 years in various positions. He started as president and CEO of the Polk Market on June 5. He says the new hospital will bring “whole-person care to residents close to home,” particularly in the southeast section of Winter Haven.
Once completed, the new hospital will be part of a network of AdventHealth centers already operational in areas such as Carrollwood (Tampa), Dade City, Lake Placid, Lake Wales, Sebring, and Wauchula. It will also be among five freestanding offsite AdventHealth emergency rooms, including those in Brandon, Palm Harbor and Tampa’s