AdventHealth Waterman Opens Temporary Entrance to ER During $74 Million Expansion Project

TAVARES, Fla., January 31, 2019 – As part of AdventHealth Waterman’s $74 million construction project to expand the emergency department and build a new four-story patient tower, the main entrance to the ER will be temporarily relocated on Feb. 1.

Patients can access the emergency department via the main hospital entrance at 1000 Waterman Way, Tavares. At this entrance, free valet parking for emergency care will be available 24/7 and signage will aide in directing patients to the ER.

“During this construction process, I want to assure our community that our hospital and emergency department will remain fully operational,” said Abel Biri, AdventHealth Waterman CEO. “This construction project is the single largest investment in a Lake County healthcare facility since our Tavares campus was completed in 2003, and we want to make sure patients know they can still rely on our hospital during their time of critical need.”

In April, the emergency department’s main entrance will reopen as AdventHealth Waterman celebrates the completed construction on its four-story patient tower for women’s services, pediatrics and future growth.

The construction to more than double the size of the emergency department, growing from 35 to 58 beds, is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. This expansion project will improve privacy and patient flow in the ER and add advanced technology for caring for children, seniors and heart attack patients.

Originally built to accommodate 50,000 patients a year, the AdventHealth Waterman emergency department cared for nearly 66,500 patients in 2018, demonstrating a clear need for the hospital to add more beds to the ER.

About AdventHealth Waterman

AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares has 269-beds and is one of the six hospitals in Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties that composes the AdventHealth Central Florida Division - North Region. Formerly known as Florida Hospital Waterman, the organization’s parent company changed the name of all wholly-owned entities to AdventHealth on Jan. 2, 2019. Based in Altamonte Springs, AdventHealth is a connected system of care. With more than 80,000 team members, AdventHealth is one of the nation’s largest faith-based health care systems with nearly 50 hospitals and hundreds of care sites in nearly a dozen states. Florida Hospital Waterman is located in the heart of Lake County and was founded in 1938 by Frank Waterman. With the mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth Waterman provides whole person care to heal the body, mind and spirit. For more information about AdventHealth Waterman, visit http://AdventHealthWaterman.com.