Orlando Health announced today it would begin to develop its newest location, Orlando Health Lakeland Highlands Hospital, and associated campus on approximately 80 acres at Lakeland Highlands Road and the Winter Lake Extension Road. Construction will begin in the late spring of 2022, and the new hospital is expected to open by fall 2024.
As an organization, Orlando Health has over $7.6 billion of assets under management that serve the southeastern United States. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, the system was founded more than 100 years ago. Today, Orlando Health manages a 3,100-bed system that includes sixteen wholly-owned hospitals and emergency departments as well as:
- Rehabilitation Services
- Cancer Institutes
- Heart Institutes
- Imaging and Laboratory Services
- Wound Care Centers
- Primary Care Physician Offices
- Skilled Nursing Facilities
- An In-Patient Behavioral Health Facility
- Home Healthcare Services in Partnership with LHC Group
- Urgent Care Centers in Partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care
Nearly 3,400 individual physicians representing more than ninety medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, employing more than 23,000 team members. The Lakeland expansion will bring the same high level of care to residents in South Central Florida, especially in underserved neighborhoods of South Lakeland and surrounding rural communities.
Orlando Health is recognized worldwide for its pediatric and adult Level One Trauma program, co-located at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center, where more than 50 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting were treated in June 2016. The team’s dedication was able to save many of the victims and help the Orlando community recover as a whole.
Orlando Health’s recognition as a highly-respected and community-oriented medical organization doesn’t stop there, however. In FY21, Orlando Health served nearly 160,000 inpatients and almost 3.6 million outpatients. In addition, during that same period, Orlando Health provided approximately $648 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community-building activities, and more.
“With the extraordinary growth we see in Lakeland and Polk County, the need for this hospital is clear, and we are so excited that Orlando Health is here to help meet this need,” said Jamal Hakim, MD, chief operating officer, Orlando Health. “At Orlando Health Lakeland Highlands Hospital, we will provide a broad range of healthcare services. Here, at one convenient location, you will be able to get exceptional emergency and inpatient care from clinical experts in multiple specialties, the highest quality diagnostic services, and seamless access to all of Orlando Health’s trusted primary and specialty care providers.”
The multi-story hospital and campus will be designed by HOK and HB and will have the ability to grow to a size that could eventually accommodate up to 360 hospital beds. According to the plans the city approved in 2019, the campus could ultimately include a 20,000 square foot ambulatory surgical center, 240,000 square feet of medical office space, 20,000 square feet of retail space, and a 150-room hotel.
‘We have been delighted to work with Mayor Bull Mutz, the Lakeland City Commission, City Manager Shawn Sherrouse, and city staff to ensure we are addressing the needs of the community,” Dr. Hakim said. “Their forward-thinking leadership and professionalism will help make the Orlando Health Lakeland Highlands Hospital a tremendous asset for the area.”
Residents in Lakeland and surrounding communities can expect to see the new building and surrounding retail and hospitality additions by the fall of 2024. Find more information at orlandohealth.com or on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter profiles @orlandohealth.