Orlando Health announced plans to build a second facility in Lakeland because of the city’s rapid population growth.
The health system, which is building a larger medical center off Lakeland Highlands Road just south of the Polk Parkway in South Lakeland, says it will construct a freestanding emergency room at Lakeland Park Center, just north of I-4, starting in the New Year.
The 20,800-square-foot facility will have 24 exam rooms with an ambulance bay, imaging suite, and laboratory.
“Lakeland has experienced strong population growth over the last few decades,” said Matt Taylor, Orlando Health’s senior vice president of asset strategy, in a press statement. “As a result, the demand for accessible and high-quality health care continues to grow in this area. Orlando Health is pleased to expand its presence and maintain its commitment to delivering exceptional care for the communities we serve.”
The facility, once constructed, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This is the third freestanding emergency room planned north of I-4 in a little over a year. The three proposed facilities are all located within approximately 2.7 miles of each other, a roughly eight-minute drive.
Lakeland Regional Health received approval from Lakeland commissioners to add a freestanding hybrid emergency department and urgent care center to its Kathleen Campus, off Kathleen Road and I-4, in September 2022.
HCA Healthcare received approval to build an 11,570-square-foot freestanding emergency department off the northeast corner of Carpenters Way and U.S. Highway 98. The healthcare provider plans to demolish the former bank building and construct a new facility including ambulance bays, imaging, and a laboratory.
From someone who has sat in the LRMC ER for 2 1/2 hours waiting for help, it’s a relief knowing that these new facilities are in the plan.