Orlando Health Celebrates Major Expansion Project in Lake County

Orlando, FL (September 27, 2021) – Orlando Health South Lake Hospital officially broke ground on the construction site for its new patient tower. Lake County elected officials and community members joined Orlando Health South Lake team members and clinical staff in celebrating the first milestone of the hospital’s expansion project.

In addition to the construction of a new 95-bed patient tower, plans include an expansion and renovations to the Orlando Health South Lake Center for Women’s Health. The first phase of construction will begin with the realignment of Don Wickham Drive to intersect with Legends Way and include the addition of a stoplight to improve traffic flow.

“This is an exciting time for our hospital,” said Lance Sewell, president of Orlando Health South Lake Hospital. “Lake County is steadily and rapidly growing, and we’re excited to continue growing with it. By expanding our facilities, we'll be able to increase the types of services we offer while providing the quality care that Orlando Health is known for to even more people in the communities we serve.”

The expansion of Orlando Health South Lake is made possible in part by a $50 million grant from The Live Well Foundation of South Lake, an organization created to address healthcare needs in the community. The foundation meets these needs by partnering with local nonprofits to provide grants for healthcare-driven initiatives and has been in partnership with Orlando Health since its founding in 2019.

“We’re honored to partner with Orlando Health South Lake Hospital to increase its impact in our community,” said Kasey Kesselring, Ed.D., chairman, Live Well Foundation of South Lake Board of Directors. “As South Lake County continues to develop and grow, so will the need for access to preventative and emergency healthcare services. This expansion means that more individuals and families will not only receive the best healthcare possible, but also a better quality of life through improved health and wellness.”

Renovations for the hospital’s Women’s Center will be completed in early 2022 and include the addition of new beds for postpartum and labor and delivery as well as expanded women’s services. The completed tower will allow for an expanded intensive care unit and will create more than 150 new full-time hospital positions. The expansion will generate more than 500 construction jobs and is anticipated to be completed in late fall 2023.

 About Orlando Health

Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $7.6 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States.

Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for its pediatric and adult Level One Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level Two Adult Trauma Center in the St Petersburg region. It is the home of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof, the only system in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health is a statutory teaching system that pioneers life-changing medical research. The 3,200-bed system includes 15 wholly-owned hospitals and emergency departments; rehabilitation services, cancer and heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, physician offices for adults and pediatrics, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care. Nearly 4,200 physicians, representing more than 80 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs nearly 22,000 team members. In FY20, Orlando Health served nearly 150,000 inpatients and nearly 3.1 million outpatients. During that same time period, Orlando Health provided approximately $760 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. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.