Lakeland’s population grew by 12.1% from 2020 to 2023, making it the fastest-growing metro area in the country. This rapid growth has been accompanied by a surge in medical facilities, drawing an estimated $2 billion in investments and adding 2 million square feet of space in recent years.

R. Brian Rewis, Lakeland’s director of community and economic development, attributes much of this growth to a 2018 expansion of Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, home to one of the busiest single-site emergency departments in the U.S. That year, the hospital opened the 350,000-sq.-ft. Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women & Children, which brought the county its first children’s emergency department and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Since then, Rewis says, “we’ve seen an explosion of additional health care facilities.”

In the years following, Lakeland Regional Health expanded with an 80,000-sq.-ft. Harrell Family Center for Behavioral Wellness and a 76,000-sq.-ft. medical campus. HCA Florida launched an 11,000-sq.-ft. stand-alone emergency room, while the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs opened a 120,000-plus-sq.-ft. outpatient clinic.

More expansion is planned. At least six new medical facilities have been proposed in Lakeland, including three additional stand-alone emergency departments. One of these will be operated by Orlando Health, which has already begun construction on a seven-story, full-service hospital. Most recently, the Lakeland City Commission approved a zoning change to allow AdventHealth to build a 720,000-sq.-ft., 10-story full-service hospital and medical center complex.

Mayor Bill Mutz attributes much of the medical growth to a relaxation of Florida’s certificate of need regulations, which previously required health care companies to demonstrate a community need before expanding or constructing new facilities.

These new medical centers will address critical needs in Lakeland. According to Lakeland Regional Health’s 2022-25 community needs assessment, Polk County has a 2,080:1 ratio of residents to primary care physicians, much higher than Florida’s state average of 1,380:1.

“As for some people, medicine is optional. Medical care is optional,” Mutz says. “But the more opportunities we have for primary care, the more important it becomes. Health care is absolutely crucial.”

Source:  Florida Trend