Big news on the horizon for Port St. Lucie as the city readies for the launch of a brand new hospital on September 9 dubbed the Florida Coast Medical Center. CEO Tyler Sherrill said the facility located at the corner of Becker Road in the Florida Turnpike is expansive.
"The building itself is 180,000 square feet. It cost us about 200 million to build this. It's a 54-bed facility with 26 ER beds, some of which are designed for fast admission and fast entry into our ED. So we call those fast track, for example," he said.
Within its walls, Florida Coast Medical Center will offer a wide variety of medical services.
"We offer anything from advanced surgical care, orthopedics, neurosciences, cardiology, emergency care, gynecology, urogynecology, breast surgery, to name a few," he said.
Tyler said the addition of the hospital to the area is necessary for one big reason. Port St. Lucie is booming.
"The area is one of the top growing areas in the nation. With that growth has come more population and an unparalleled need for care. This is the first hospital in the area in over a decade, so we're rising to that occasion. We're bringing a hospital to Port St. Lucie in Martin County to address that care need," he said.
When it comes to the scope of its service area, Tyler says the doors are open.
"To some degree the community will answer that. But certainly, when we look at the hospital, its service area, or its primary service area as we describe it, largely speaking, that's Port St. Lucie and Martin County. It's situated in the middle, right above the C-23 canal, which separates the two counties. That doesn't preclude people from traveling to us for care. When you look at some of the services we're offering, some of the advanced technology that's within the facility, that's exciting. I believe that people will travel for this facility," he said.