North Florida Regional Medical Center has announced that it will expand access to emergency care in North Central Florida with the opening of a 24/7 full-service, freestanding emergency department in Western Gainesville. Usage of the property site was approved by the Alachua County Commission on February 23, 2016.
The two-acre site for the project is at the southwest corner of W. Newberry Road and 122nd Street, often referred to as Parker Road and will include an11,200-square-foot, one-story facility. The freestanding ER is expected to serve more than 12,000 patients a year. The $10.5 million project will feature 10 emergency rooms and will employ approximately 35 full-time healthcare professionals.
“This new ER facility represents our latest step to expand access to healthcare throughout our community and also to make it easier for community residents to access the emergency care they need,” says Brian Cook, President & CEO of North Florida Regional Medical Center. “As a community leader in ER care, we continually monitor demand for emergency services, and significant growth over the past few years has made it clear we need to expand. Many of our patients come to us from counties west of our hospital, and this site will allow them to access full-service ER care 24/7 without having to come into the high-traffic areas of Gainesville. We’re excited about the opportunity to provide critical healthcare services in a more convenient setting for our patients.”
North Florida Regional Medical Center expects to break ground for the project in late summer of 2016 and says the new Emergency Department will open in the first quarter of 2017.
