Doug Harcombe, CEO of AdventHealth Central Florida South Market and AdventHealth Lake Nona, reflected on the significant progress of AdventHealth Celebration since its early days in 1997.

The hospital, originally known as Florida Hospital Celebration Health, faced numerous challenges at its inception, including the lack of a required state certificate of need, which delayed its opening. Harcombe referenced a 1997 magazine cover that expressed doubts about the hospital’s success.

On January 15, AdventHealth Celebration marked a major milestone by breaking ground on an eight-story patient tower as part of a $340 million expansion. The tower, which will add 80 new beds and three operating rooms, is set to open in late 2027, coinciding with the hospital’s 30th anniversary. Once completed, the hospital will have a total of 437 beds.

The 302,000-square-foot tower will not only increase capacity but also create 150 new jobs. It will also include space for future growth. In 2020, the hospital had opened another patient tower with 80 beds, which was later expanded to accommodate up to 120 beds.

Amanda Maggard, CEO of AdventHealth Celebration, explained that the new tower’s shell space is vital for accommodating future growth. The previous tower reached full capacity in early 2023, well before its anticipated growth period.

“With the projected growth of the community and the expansion of tertiary services, we knew we needed to plan for additional space,” she said.

The new space could also eventually be used to expand the emergency room.

The $340 million project will also include a future phase for a parking garage, though no construction timeline has been set for that aspect yet. When fully completed, the campus will expand its workforce from 1,600 employees to up to 3,000.

Todd Mansfield, a former executive vice president at The Walt Disney Co. who helped design the Celebration community, highlighted the hospital’s pivotal role in the area’s development.

“The hospital became the cornerstone of Celebration, providing world-class healthcare and creating numerous career opportunities and substantial economic development for both Celebration and the surrounding region,” he said.

AdventHealth’s Central Florida division operates 17 hospitals and emergency rooms across four counties in the Orlando metro area. Along with its outpatient network, the division handles 3.5 million patient visits annually. On a national level, AdventHealth employs more than 93,000 people and operates 50 hospitals across nine states. In Central Florida, it is the second-largest employer, with 37,672 employees, according to Orlando Business Journal research.

Source:  OBJ