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Florida Hospital Apopka in the final stages of starting a new era

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For decades it was dreamed about, planned, and considered.

In 2013, the land was purchased to make the dream a reality. In March of 2015, the plans and considerations took shape and ground was broken. By December of 2015, 1.9 million pounds of concrete was poured and a base was formed.

For almost 50 years, Florida Hospital has been a part of the Apopka community

Two years later, it has weathered Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Matthew, as well as media and VIP tours to become a shining beacon overlooking the 429, 415, and 451.

Slowly but surely the new Florida Hospital Apopka has ascended from the fertile ground of Northwest Orange County, and into the hearts, minds, conversations, and imaginations of residents, elected officials, and business owners who see this astounding landmark as a transformative moment in Apopka history.

Symbolically it's at the intersections of old and new Apopka. However, it is more than a symbolic landmark.

In less than a month, Florida Hospital Apopka will move from its 50-bed home on Park Avenue to a state-of-the-art, 200-bed facility that is poised to serve all of Apopka and the surrounding communities.

Apopka Mayor Joe Kilsheimer remembers how it all began, and the role that The City of Apopka has played in its development.

"Florida Hospital has known for decades they needed a bigger facility," he said. It all began with an administrator named Verbelee Nielsen-Swanson who had a program of looking ahead and forecasting healthcare trends. She and her team laid the groundwork.

Even before he was mayor, Kilsheimer recalls when Florida Hospital bought the property.

"My involvement started four years ago when I was a City Commissioner and the Florida Hospital team purchased this ground. It's been a great partnership between the City of Apopka and Florida Hospital. We knew as a team at the City of Apopka what having a new hospital was going to mean for the City."

The new Florida Hospital Apopka is a seven-story, 600,000 square foot wonder.

The hospital features 120 private patient rooms, advanced surgical suites, a diagnostic cath lab, and other high-demand services. Plans also include an expanded Women’s Center, outpatient rehab, ICU and medical services while also providing the same quality emergency, cardiology, and imaging services as before.

Medically it is impressive, and aesthetically it is a seven-story, 600,000 square foot wonder.

The new Florida Hospital Apopka incorporates local greenery into its design and landscaping, along with an architectural style that brings abundant natural light indoors, and creatively employs open space to enhance its holistic approach to the healing process and people-centered medicine. Dozens of features on every floor focus on making this hospital both patient-friendly, while also making it comfortable and accessible for friends, family and loved ones.

Tim Cook is the Assistant Vice President and Administrator at Florida Hospital Apopka.

Tim Cook is the Senior Vice President and Administrator for Florida Hospital Apopka. He is excited to make the transition and eager to show the Apopka community this new hospital.

"Here in Apopka, we've had wonderful care for almost 50 years at Florida Hospital Apopka over on Park Avenue," he said. "But this facility represents a new era. It's going to transform healthcare for Apopka and the surrounding communities. What we are opening here is a 120-bed private room facility with the capacity to go up to 200. It offers four operating rooms, which to date there has been no surgery done in Apopka. We'll have two cardiac cath labs to do diagnostics. There are 20 ICU beds and what's phenomenal is the level of care given - this facility will have 24/7 intensivist physicians and certified nurse practitioners who will provide round-the-clock care in the unit. And all of that care and this fancy building is wonderful, but what really makes it exceptional is the people... and we've assembled more folks than we had working at the old Apopka hospital. There will be between 600-800 people working here, where we had only 200 before."

The new Florida Hospital Apopka is projected to open in the first two weeks of December.

Florida Hospital Apopka By the Numbers:

120 Inpatient beds, all private rooms, including: 19 ICU beds with 24-hour Critical Care coverage

20 bed Observation Unit

40 Private Emergency Department Rooms, including five (5) pediatric-friendly rooms.

320,000-square-foot Hospital opening December 2017

80,000-square-foot Medical Office Building opening 1st Quarter 2018

Four (4) state-of-the-art operating rooms and space for two more.

Three Endoscopy Suites with room for one more.

The new ED is five times bigger than the current Apopka Emergency Department: 30,000 square feet vs. the existing ED, 6,000 square feet.

500+ Employees

Glass has the capacity to resist up to 170-mile-per-hour winds

Services:

Emergency Department

Inpatient Care

Inpatient and Outpatient Surgery

Cardiology services, including diagnostic catheterizations

Interventional Radiology

Outpatient services, including: cardiopulmonary rehab, endoscopy, gastroenterology, imaging, lab, primary/specialty care, sports medicine and rehab, urology

Medical Office Building opens 1st Quarter 2018.

Women’s Imaging Services - including Diagnostic Mammogram, Dexa, Ultrasound

24/7 Tele-Neurology, Tele-Stroke, Tele-Psychiatry services will be available

Retail Pharmacy (opening early 2018)

Other Features:

Verbie’s Café – Named in honor of Verbelee Nielsen-Swanson, administrator at Florida Hospital Apopka for more than 20 years

Full-service café

Chapel and Serenity garden

MarketPlace Gift Shop

Florida Hospital - Apopka

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