AdventHealth Breaks Ground on New Hospital for Hardee Community

AdventHealth Wauchula, in partnership with the City of Wauchula, and the Hardee County Industrial Development Authority, celebrated the groundbreaking of its new hospital benefitting the health and wellness of the Hardee County community.

The idea of a new health care facility for Wauchula has been a dream for many years and is a long time coming. AdventHealth is investing heavily in Wauchula's future. Hand-in-hand with Hardee County, we will continue to extend the healing ministry of Christ to our Heartland neighbors, said Florida Hospital Heartland President and CEO Bruce Bergherm

Today is a great day for Hardee County. AdventHealth's partnership helps us substantially; not only by providing great quality health care to our local community but also helping us to improve the landscape of economic development in a very visible way, stated Hardee County Industrial Development Authority Chair Vanessa Hernandez. Building a $32 million hospital on State Road 17 in Hardee County is one of those game-changing events. We knew we could not let this opportunity pass, to have a multi-million dollar healthcare facility with the quality and caliber that Florida Hospital brings. We will look back and say that was a great decision.

AdventHealth Wauchula has significant historical value to our community, and to me, said AdventHealth Sebring's Vice President and Wauchula Administrator Denise Grimsley. Under Hardee Memorial Hospital, Grimsley volunteered as a Candy Striper in 1975, after high school became a Unit Clerk in 1977 and continued to work as a Registered Nurse until 1991, before returning to Florida Hospital Wauchula in 2013.

Mayor the City of Wauchula Keith Nadasky, Jr., announced, I'm very excited. This is the biggest event that has happened in my lifetime here in Wauchula. Its huge, and I'm ready to get started.

After performing a two-year cost analysis, AdventHealth weighed the cost of the new hospital versus updates to the original facility. The ultramodern facility won approval and will open in 2017 at a new location on State Road 17, serving the same community it has for more than 20 years. The new 50,000-square foot facility will be similar in size to the current hospital with a 15-bed emergency department, 25-bed transitional care unit and extensive therapy rooms. The new hospital will feature a modern, healing environment for improved staff efficiency, more compassionate care and enhanced patient safety. Each private in-patient room will feature an ensuite bathroom, refrigerator, microwave, and personal safe. The hospital will also offer concierge services, a beauty salon and an activity room with a full kitchen, washer/dryer and large screen television for events.

Always focused on patient safety and comfort, AdventHealth Wauchula will continue its award-winning reputation as a Top Rural Hospital offering critical access, the first designated in the State of Florida. This facility has won the coveted Leapfrog patient safety designation three years in a row.

The AdventHealth Foundation in Wauchula has already kicked-off it's Advancing the Legacy Fundraising Campaign designed to complement and expand services in the new facility.

In 1970, Hardee Memorial Hospital opened but closed in the early 1990s leaving Hardee County without emergency care. Seeing a great need for quality health care in rural Hardee County, AdventHealth reopened the facility in 1994. Many improvements have been made throughout the years, such as lab enhancement and the new Linda Adler Mammography Suite which has served more than 900 Hardee County women to date. After the new hospital opens, the original building will be evaluated for future use.

AdventHealth is a faith-based health care organization headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida. A national leader in quality, safety, and patient satisfaction, AdventHealth nearly 77,000 employees maintain a tradition of whole-person health by caring for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of every patient.

With 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,300 licensed beds in ten states, AdventHealth facilities incorporate the latest technological advancements and clinical research to serve more than 4.7 million patients annually. The full continuum of integrated care also includes urgent care centers, home health and hospice agencies, and skilled nursing facilities.

Each AdventHealth facility operates independently in delivering care and services to best meet the needs of the local communities they serve. While each entity is unique, all remain united in one mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ.