Market Growth Drives Major Expansion at South Lake Hospital

South Lake Hospital, in affiliation with Orlando Health, broke ground today on a project that will nearly double the capacity of its Emergency Department on its main campus in Clermont. With an expected completion in fall 2018, the expansion will include 10 new beds and a more spacious, family friendly waiting room. The expansion also includes room for 10 additional beds as the need arises.

The groundbreaking is one of three current capital projects intended to provide better access to emergency services throughout the hospital’s coverage area. Last month crews began construction of a freestanding emergency department 13 miles north of its main Clermont campus; and next month the hospital will start building a second freestanding emergency facility in the Four Corners area, where Lake and Polk counties share a border. In addition to the freestanding emergency departments at the northern and southern boundaries of the hospital’s service area, hospital officials are also developing plans for the Minneola area, where a new Florida Turnpike connection will come on line later this year.

“South Lake County is a dynamic, rapidly growing community,” said hospital President John Moore. “In just the past 10 years we’ve seen the complexion of the community change too, as more families have moved into the area. Our objective is to stay ahead of that growth and ensure we have the capacity to meet residents’ healthcare needs, both on and off our main campus.”

South Lake Hospital is currently treating nearly 12,000 more patients in the Emergency Department than it did just five years ago and Moore expects that number to continue to rise. According to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Lake County’s population is expected to grow 11 percent by 2020; by 2030, the population will grow by a full 25 percent.

In addition to new construction, South Lake Hospital recently added 13 beds to its Clinical Decision Unit, which allows physician teams to gather additional information and tests before deciding whether or not to admit a patient to the hospital.

“About 90 percent of the patients we admit to the hospital are admitted from the Emergency Department, so having a fast, efficient patient entry point is important,” said South Lake Hospital emergency physician Dr. Kerry Neall, who today helped the team turn over the first shovel of dirt. “It’s a very exciting time for our team.”

About South Lake Hospital
South Lake Hospital, in affiliation with Orlando Health, is a not-for-profit, 170-bed hospital that serves multiple communities in south Lake County, including Clermont, Minneola, Groveland, Mascotte and Montverde. The hospital is situated on a 180-acre health, education and wellness campus that includes the acute care hospital, Center for Women’s Health and the National Training Center, which attracts elite athletes and sports teams from around the world for training and conditioning. The campus also houses South Lake Endoscopy Center, South Lake Surgery Center, South Lake Home Health, South Lake Wound Care Center and SkyTop View Rehabilitation Center, a leading edge, post-surgical rehabilitation center caring for patients recovering from orthopedic and general surgery procedures. South Lake Hospital was founded in 1947, employs nearly 1,500 team members and has more than 300 physicians on its medical staff.

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