HCA Florida Blake Hospital starts construction on free-standing ER in Palmetto
PALMETTO – HCA Florida Blake Hospital broke ground Tuesday afternoon for a new free-standing emergency room at 902 10th Street E. in Palmetto.
The facility will feature 11 exam rooms and is part of the 383-bed HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Manatee County.
This is the third free-standing emergency room the Hospital Corporation of America has either built or proposed in Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties. The other two are designed to serve growth in North Port.
The new facility is anticipated to open as soon as next summer.
Who will the ER serve?
The new facility, which will be known as HCA Florida Palmetto Emergency, is anticipated to serve residents in Palmetto, Parrish and surrounding communities. It will someday compete with a proposed 250-bed hospital that Tampa-based BayCare Health Systems plans to build in Parrish.
What will it offer?
The ER will be staffed 24-hours a day, 7-days a week by board certified emergency physicians.
The 10,800-square-foot facility will offer X-Ray, CT scan, ultrasound, laboratory and pharmacy services.
How will it be staffed?
HCA Blake Hospital will add roughly 26 full time positions to the community including nurses, paramedics, radiology technicians, security guards, laboratory technicians, pharmacy technicians and housekeeping staff.
How much will it cost?
HCA has invested more than $15 million into the project and projects the estimated salary and benefit impact of $3 million annually.
Why this area?
As with many expansions, the goal is to meet the need of community growth in a central location. A HCA spokesman said via email that more than 7,200 patients are anticipated to seek medical care at HCA Palmetto Emergency in its first year of operation.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: HCA Florida Blake Hospital breaks ground on free-standing Palmetto ER
