Florida Hospital Announces Significant Investment in West Volusia County's Health Care Services

Florida Hospital announced today that it will open a 20-bed, state-of-the-art birth care center as part of a $100 million expansion project at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City.

'For more than a century, Florida Hospital has been committed to providing exceptional care with uncommon compassion,' said David Ottati, regional CEO of the Florida Hospitals located in Volusia and Flagler counties. 'West Volusia has seen rapid growth and Florida Hospital is committed to providing high-quality health care close to home, so that patients do not need to travel outside of our community for care. This expansion will help us meet the community's needs now, as well as in the future, as West Volusia continues to grow.'

'We have spent significant time listening to the needs of the West Volusia community. Our consumers' needs and preferences continue to change and we must grow with them,' said Rob Deininger, Florida Hospital Fish Memorial CEO. 'We know that expectant mothers have a variety of key factors driving their decision on where to deliver their baby and prefer locations close to work and home, giving them the comfort and safety they deserve. With this new expansion, we are uniquely poised to meet those needs and care for the more than 1,800 expecting mothers who currently choose to leave our area to give birth each year.'

Florida Hospital Medical Group OB-GYN Dr. Jon Sweet will serve as the medical director for the new program. Sweet is a board-certified OB-GYN and is a founding physician of Florida Women's Center. In addition, he has advanced training in minimally invasive and robotic-assisted gynecologic surgery. He currently cares for patients at the Deltona Health Park outpatient facility.

In addition, Florida Hospital will invest more than $1 million in recruiting new OB-GYN physicians, as well as pediatricians, to care for newborns and children in West Volusia.

Obstetric services are currently available at Florida Hospital DeLand and the nursing team will be instrumental in designing the new, cutting edge unit at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City.

After construction is completed, prenatal and GYN services will remain available at both Florida Hospital DeLand and Florida Hospital Fish Memorial. However, the delivery services will be located inside a new patient tower at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial.

'In the last several years, Florida Hospital DeLand has invested more than $34 million in facility enhancements and expansions, allowing the hospital to grow along with the community,' said Lorenzo Brown, Florida Hospital DeLand CEO. 'This provides us the opportunity to expand services at Florida Hospital DeLand. We have identified several programs and services that will meet the changing needs of our community and will continue to ensure Florida Hospital DeLand is a destination for exceptional care.'

Vickie Cuccarese, nurse manager of the BirthCare Center at Florida Hospital DeLand, oversees a team of nearly 40 nurses, providing labor and delivery, postpartum and newborn care. She's been an obstetrics nurse with Florida Hospital for more than seven years now and is familiar with the West Volusia community.

'All four of my children, who are now adults, were born at Florida Hospital DeLand, and now I oversee the nursing staff for the unit where my children were born. So, as you can understand, this news today is very personal to me,' Cuccarese said. 'Giving birth is the one of the most special experiences of our lives, and our goal is to make it the greatest and most memorable experience for every family. As a nurse, I am so proud and excited to be involved in the planning process for designing this new state-of-the-art unit. When it opens, this new 20-bed unit will not only be for the women of Orange City, Deltona and DeBary, but it will also be for the women of DeLand. This new BirthCare Center is a gift and an investment in our West Volusia community and that's something that is exciting for us all!'

Approximately $20 million of the overall $100 million expansion project at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial will be invested in developing the state-of-the-art birth care center. Construction is slated to begin in May and will include a new four-story patient tower for enhanced cardiac, intensive care, surgical, obstetrics, and other services. The expansion will also fully privatize all patient rooms, while at the same time grow the number of licensed beds from 175 to 225. In addition, this project will significantly increase the size of Florida Hospital Fish Memorial's emergency department while adding pediatric emergency care. Construction is expected to be completed in 2020.