North River developer reveals new details about Manatee’s upcoming Parrish hospital

James A. Jones Jr.
·3 min read
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HCA Florida Healthcare proposes to build its Parrish hospital in phases, starting with the emergency room.

The planned 13,950-square-foot facility, to be called HCA Florida North River Ranch Emergency center, would have 11 exam rooms and a laboratory to provide emergency services for adults and children.

The ER would be open 24/7 and offer X-rays, CT scanning, ultrasound and other services.

“They will build the hospital around the ER,” John Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods, said Monday, adding that the medical complex would represent a $300 million investment.

Neal Land is the developer of North River Ranch, where the medical complex is planned.

Planned at 9308 Fort Hamer Road is a 150-bed hospital, a 326-bed assisted living facility, and 247,000 square feet of medical office space, the Bradenton Herald first reported in February 2022.

It would be the first Manatee County hospital built north of the Manatee River.

The site plan shows where HCA Florida North River Ranch Emergency center would be located in the North River Ranch community..
The site plan shows where HCA Florida North River Ranch Emergency center would be located in the North River Ranch community..

North River Emergency center will come first

HCA Florida Healthcare purchased about 22 acres in the village center of Parrish’s North River Ranch, the Herald reported in October 2022.

North River Ranch is the largest of the new Parrish neighborhoods and is projected to house nearly 30,000 residents by the time the buildout is completed.

The projected opening date for the emergency room facility is the spring of 2025, Cathy Edmisten, CEO of HCA Florida South Shore Hospital in Sun City Center, said Monday in a phone interview with the Bradenton Herald.

“We are already serving southern Hillsborough and northern Manatee County,” Edmisten said.

9/27/2020--North River Ranch in Parrish is projected to have more than 5,000 homes when completed over the next decade. It the single largest master planned community in Parrish.
9/27/2020--North River Ranch in Parrish is projected to have more than 5,000 homes when completed over the next decade. It the single largest master planned community in Parrish.

The quickest way to begin offering medical care to the fast-growing Parrish area is with a free-standing emergency room, Sarah Tavenner, vice president of operations for HCA Florida South Shore Hospital, said in the same phone interview.

Edmisten had no new details to offer about HCA’s ultimate plans and timetable in Parrish.

Asked for another example of where HCA had built a hospital in phases starting with a free-standing ER, Edmisten cited HCA Florida University Hospital in Davie, a city in Broward County about 24 miles north of Miami.

Parrish hospital still planned

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center is the most recent hospital to be built in Manatee County. That hospital, a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc., opened in 2004. Two medical office buildings were constructed on the Lakewood Ranch campus before the medical center opened.

Neal Land & Neighborhoods and HCA officials met recently to talk about hospital plans for North River Ranch. Shown above, from left, are Charles Varah, VP Investment, Neal Land, Tom Panaseny, VP Land Development, Neal Land, ,John A. Neal, President, Neal Land, Cathy Edmisten, HCA Florida South Shore Hospital CEO, Jyric Sims, HCA Healthcare West Florida Divisionresident and Sarah Tavener, HCA Florida South Shore Hospital VP of operations.

“North River Ranch is designed as a sustainable community with walkable access to schools, healthcare, shopping and first-class amenities because as master-planned community developers, we are focused on the long-term vision and benefits to our residents,” Neal said.

The medical facility, which Manatee County commissioners approved in May 2023, would be accessed from U.S. 301 as a part of the Village Center on the northeast corner of Moccasin Wallow Road and Fort Hamer Road.

HCA Florida North River Ranch Emergency would anchor the planned North River Ranch Village Center on the north side of Moccasin Wallow Road.

The medical campus is planned catty-corner to North River Ranch’s Market Walk shopping center, where a Publix supermarket is being built on the south side of Moccasin Wallow Road.

Also planned for Moccasin Wallow Road a few miles from the HCA free-standing emergency room is a hospital planned by BayCare Health System.

In July 2022, BayCare announced that it was planning to open a hospital in northern Manatee County by the end of 2025.

The BayCare facility is proposed near the intersection of Moccasin Wallow Road and Interstate 75.

BayCare did not immediately respond to a request Monday for updated information on its northern Manatee County hospital plans.