Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital is Already Impacting the Local Economy
LAKELAND (June 25, 2026) –– Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital is already an economic driver in the community and will be for generations to come.
Up to 700 construction jobs were created on site, plus many local subcontractors, such as GMF Steel and Riverhawk Industrial Supply were utilized.
The hospital created more than 1,500 new permanent jobs. Many of those employees already live here, while many others have moved here, buying homes in Polk County, enrolling their children in area schools, and shopping in area stores.
There will be another 200 jobs added to that number by the end of the year when Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital opens a free-standing emergency department in North Lakeland.
Of the new employees, 600 are nurses and 75 are new physicians to the market –– between new hires for Watson Clinic and Orlando Health and Emergency Physicians of Central Florida. They are in addition to the 200 board-certified physicians already on staff at Watson Clinic.
Many of the new positions are considered high-skill, high-wage jobs, well above the average annual salary for Polk County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income for Polk County is $65,978.
According to the Lakeland Economic Development Council, the hospital is now the sixth-largest employer in Lakeland. It is the 15th-largest employer in Polk County, according to the Central Florida Development Council.
Orlando Health has also partnered with Polk State College to offer full scholarship programs for both full and part-time hospital employees, no matter their position at the hospital. It is not a reimbursement program –– there is no money out-of-pocket for the employee. Their tuition and books are paid for upfront in full. That alone will give hope to and change the lives of the residents in Lakeland and Polk County.
About Orlando Health: Orlando Health is a private not-for-profit, integrated academic healthcare system with $15 billion of assets under management, that serves the southeastern United States – including Florida and Alabama – and Puerto Rico. With corporate offices in Orlando, Florida the system provides a complete continuum of care across a network of medical centers and institutes, community and specialty hospitals, physician practices, urgent care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare, and long-term and behavioral health care services. Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health’s mission is to improve the health and the quality of life of the individuals and communities we serve. The system provided nearly $2 billion in community impact in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 24, the most recent period for which the information is available. For more information, visit orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
About Watson Clinic: As one of the largest multispecialty medical clinics in the southeast, Watson Clinic provides comprehensive healthcare services to residents of Lakeland and surrounding communities. First established in 1941, Watson Clinic has grown to include over 200 board-certified physicians representing more than 40 medical and surgical specialties. The Clinic is proud to deliver quality healthcare to every generation from our Main Clinic location at 4060 Lakeland Highlands Road in Lakeland, as well as 20 additional convenient locations throughout Polk, Pasco and Hillsborough counties. More information is available at www.WatsonClinic.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
