New BayCare hospital in Wesley Chapel opens its doors
BayCare Health System opened its newest hospital in Wesley Chapel on Tuesday, marking the first time the nonprofit has built a hospital from scratch.
Built at a cost of $246 million, BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel will be the first hospital to be branded with the nonprofit’s name. It’s also the first time the hospital chain has gone through the process of obtaining certification for a brand-new hospital.
The nonprofit already runs 15 hospitals in the Tampa Bay region, the majority of them legacy hospitals that it took over. It built two satellite campuses for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Riverview and Lutz that operate under the Tampa hospital’s license.
Patients began arriving at the emergency department of the 86-bed, six-story hospital early Tuesday morning. The six-story facility is located at 4501 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., just south of State Road 54 in Pasco County.
The hospital will be accredited by the Joint Commission, an organization that certifies health care firms. Final approval from the commission is only granted after the hospital has treated as least 30 patients, said spokesperson Lisa Razler.
In addition to an emergency room, the 318,000-square-foot hospital includes an intensive care unit with 12 virtual-monitoring beds and diagnostic services such as imaging and lab, and surgery rooms.
Every patient room is private and includes voice control of lighting and blinds through an Alexa system, Amazon’s cloud-based voice system. It can also be used to page nurses.
It is intended to serve patients in Pasco, Hernando and northern Hillsborough counties.
“This facility will expand access to convenient and high-quality care and address the needs of that growing community,” said Stephanie Conners, BayCare CEO and president, in a statement.
Wesley Chapel’s burgeoning population had already attracted new health care infrastructure, including an AdventHealth hospital, a Tampa General Hospital remote emergency room and the North Tampa Behavioral Health Hospital.
More is coming.
Orlando Health, the owner of Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, in July announced plans for a 300-bed, multistory hospital and wellness campus at the corner of State Road 56 and Wiregrass Ranch Boulevard.
The Moffitt Cancer Center will later this year embark on construction of Speros FL, a 775-acre global innovation center focused on cancer care and research.