A recent virtual groundbreaking event officially began a clinical expansion project at West Kendall Baptist Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida.

At the heart of the project, scheduled to be completed in early 2023, is a new four-story, 126,000-square-foot tower that will house 35 additional emergency department treatment rooms, 70 new observation/inpatient beds and growth areas for imaging services and more.

The groundbreaking event on Nov. 18 was streamed live via Zoom and hosted by Lourdes Boue, CEO of West Kendall Baptist Hospital, and Aida Shafer, chair of the West Kendall Baptist Hospital Board of Directors, alongside a group of socially distanced Baptist Health executives and community leaders.

“Since our opening in 2011, we have been a vital part of the neighborhood,” Boue said during the event. “We are committed to providing an excellent patient experience along with the most advanced technology. This expansion is an investment in our community.”

When it opened, West Kendall Baptist Hospital was Miami-Dade County’s first non-replacement hospital in more than 35 years. The hospital supported a vision of West Kendall as a convenient central hub where area residents can live, work and play, and the campus’ award-winning design anticipated rapid growth in the area.

The new construction will match the modern Mediterranean style of the existing hospital and feature the same eco-friendly features that earned the hospital LEED Gold certification for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a green building certification program used worldwide.

West Kendall Baptist Hospital is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest healthcare organization in the region, with 11 hospitals, nearly 23,000 employees, more than 4,000 physicians and more than 100 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning across Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Source:  Community Newspapers