Florida Hospital Tampa Launches Largest Surgical Expansion in Tampa Bay History and Largest Expansion in Hospital History

Florida Hospital Tampa, part of the West Florida Division of Adventist Health System, soon to be AdventHealth, officially broke ground on a six-story, 300,000 square foot patient and surgical tower at the corner of Fletcher Ave. and Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL. The expansion project includes 24 brand new operating rooms, a new hospital entrance and over 100 all private dedicated surgical care beds.

"This is a state-of-the-art project that will provide specialty care in Tampa Bay that you can't find anywhere else in our area," said Brian Adams, President and CEO of Florida Hospital Tampa. "Our goal is to design a surgical tower that isn't just relevant today, but will be relevant 30 years from now, combining surgical innovation and the most advanced robotic technologies with the nation's best physicians."

The $256 million surgical and patient tower will be named The Taneja Center for Innovative Surgery, recognizing the family of Jugal and Manju Taneja. The family gave a generous gift to the expansion project that is the largest donation ever to Florida Hospital West Florida Division.

"This gift will forever remind us of our son Mandeep, and his wonderful care at Florida Hospital Tampa. This is for him and for other patients like him. When other patients are saved by this institute, we will be very happy," said Jugal and Manju Taneja.

The Taneja Center for Innovative Surgery at Florida Hospital Tampa will mean closer access to highly specialized care for the Tampa Bay community. Florida Hospital Tampa currently receives over 2,000 patients a year who need advanced medical care they cannot get anywhere else.

"We are currently performing advanced robotic surgeries at Florida Hospital Tampa, and this tower will allow us to have even more advanced technology and innovation, allowing us to create the best possible outcomes for patients," said Dr. Allen Chudzinski, a Harvard trained surgeon and director of colon and rectal surgery at Florida Hospital Tampa who specializes in colorectal cases. "As a surgeon, you look to be at a hospital that has the latest surgical technology and is preparing and shaping the future of surgery."

The Florida Hospital Tampa expansion is the largest of several construction projects in the West Florida Division. There are also Emergency Room expansions underway at Florida Hospital Carrollwood and Florida Hospital Ocala, with a planned Emergency Room expansion next year at Florida Hospital North Pinellas. Florida Hospital West Florida Division is also growing the number of offsite Emergency Departments and Centra Care locations.

"This is about more than growth and expansion, this is about connecting our community to the kind of expert health care that's needed and delivering it with Florida Hospital's unique brand of inspired, compassionate care," said Mike Schultz, President and CEO of Florida Hospital West Florida Division.

The Taneja Center for Innovative Surgery at Florida Hospital Tampa is expected to open in 2021 and will bring an estimated 117 new clinical jobs in the first year, and 587 new jobs by the fifth year. The expansion project also includes several hundred additional parking spaces, and a redesigned landscape.

About Florida Hospital, West Florida Division of Adventist Health System (Florida Hospital will soon be AdventHealth)

The West Florida Division of Adventist Health System, soon to be AdventHealth, is a 1,810 bed health care system currently comprised of ten acute-care hospitals including Florida Hospital Carrollwood, Florida Hospital Dade City, Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Lake Placid, Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Sebring, Florida Hospital North Pinellas, Florida Hospital Ocala, Florida Hospital Tampa, Florida Hospital Wauchula, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, as well as three freestanding offsite Emergency Rooms including Florida Hospital Central Pasco ER, Florida Hospital Palm Harbor ER and Florida Hospital TimberRidge ER. Additionally, it has one post-acute care facility, Florida Hospital at Connerton Long Term Acute Care, over 45 multi-specialty Florida Hospital Physician Group practices, 15 Florida Hospital Express Care at Walgreens clinics and 6 Florida Hospital Centra Care Urgent Care Centers. For more information, go to floridahospital.com.

About Florida Hospital Tampa

Florida Hospital Tampa is a not-for-profit 536-bed tertiary hospital specializing in Digestive Health, Cardiovascular Medicine, Neuroscience, Orthopedics, Women's Services, Pediatrics, Oncology, Endocrinology, Bariatrics, Wound Healing, Sleep Medicine and General Surgery, including minimally invasive and robotic-assisted procedures. Also located at Florida Hospital Tampa is the renowned Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute, a recognized leader in cardiovascular disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and leading-edge research. The recent addition of the Doc1st ER shows that Florida Hospital Tampa is committed to providing compassionate and quality healthcare. Part of the Adventist Health System, Florida Hospital is a leading health network comprised of 26 hospitals throughout the state. For more information, visit http://www.FHTampa.org.

Tags: Healthcare