Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel ceremonially broke ground on a $78 million expansion that will nearly double the size of patient rooms, operating rooms and emergency rooms and increase the square footage of the hospital over 50%.

The 200,000 sq. ft. hospital opened less than three years ago with 83 inpatient rooms, 18 emergency rooms, a Cath Lab, five operating rooms, outpatient imaging, and other ancillary services. Adventist Health System, parent company of Florida Hospital invested $161 million to build the hospital and adjacent Wellness Plaza which houses the Health & Wellness Center, Center for Women’s Health, Outpatient Rehabilitation and physician office.

“Since we opened, the community has overwhelmingly shown us both the need for the hospital and their trust in us by continuing choose Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel for their care,” president and CEO, Denyse Bales-Chubb. “We are privileged to serve this community and know this expansion will enable to better serve the patients coming to us and prepare us for the future growth of the area.”

The expansion will add three additional floors to the hospitals center wing and add an additional three-story wing that will connect the south and center wings. It involves 111,993 sq. ft. of new construction and 10,834 sq. ft. of renovation. In the expansion, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel will add additional emergency rooms, inpatient rooms, surgical suites and related surgical services, Heart Catheterization Lab, and recovery/observation rooms as well as shelled space for future growth.

At the groundbreaking, Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore and State Representative Danny Burgess, Jr. both spoke about the hospital’s impact on the community. The hospital shared renderings and a 3D video of what the new hospital will look like. Adventist Health System and Florida Hospital are investing $61 million in the project. The hospital announced a capital campaign to raise the remaining $17 million for the project. Tom Dempsey, owner of Saddlebrook Resort, was announced as the Capital Campaign Chair.

Construction on the expansion begins the week of August 17th with the expansion opening at the end of 2016.

About Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is an 83 all-private bed hospital. Built from the ground-up, this full-service community hospital features expert staff, specialty design and state-of-the art technology built for better patient care. The hospital features state of the art imaging and surgical equipment, much of it first in the region. Services include an emergency department, cardiac care, vascular surgery, orthopedics and sports medicine, women’s services and gynecology, obstetrics, urology and nephrology, outpatient imaging, outpatient physical and occupational therapy, The Center for Women’s Health and a free-standing Health & Wellness Center. The hospital’s Wellness Plaza also houses offices for primary care and specialty physicians.