DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When Brooke Stubbs found her 19-year-old son, Josiah Stubbs, unconscious on the floor of his New Smyrna Beach home in 2023, she knew immediately something was terribly wrong.
Josiah Stubbs was rushed to AdventHealth Daytona Beach, where neurosurgeon Erinc Akture, MD, performed a 14-hour emergency surgery to repair a spontaneous ruptured brain aneurysm.
Josiah Stubbs spent 12 weeks in the hospital’s intensive care unit, including weeks in a coma, and underwent a second surgery before eventually returning home.
The Stubbs family recently returned to AdventHealth Daytona Beach as the hospital completed a major expansion that increased inpatient capacity from 362 to 466 beds.
Brooke Stubbs remembers her son’s hospitalization not only for the complexity of his care, but for the way the hospital team supported the family around him.
“When Josiah was in the hospital, the doctors and nurses cared for our entire family, not just Josiah,” she said. “They were there for us through some of the hardest moments of our lives, and that is something I will never forget.”
Josiah Stubbs was treated before the expansion at AdventHealth Daytona Beach was completed, but the highly specialized care he needed helps illustrate what the project will mean for future patients.
Among the hospital’s new 104 intensive and progressive care beds is a dedicated neuro-ICU for patients facing serious neurological conditions along with an expanded cardiovascular intensive care unit.
“Josiah’s story is one I will always remember because his recovery involved so much more than what happened in the operating room,” Dr. Akture said. “It took weeks of coordinated care, constant communication and a family that never stopped believing in him. That is the kind of experience I think about when I walk through our new neuro-ICU.”
Patient rooms added through the expansion also include AdventHealth’s smart room technology. Digital whiteboards display information, such as a patient’s clinical team, medications and daily goals, while secure video technology can connect patients with clinicians and other services.
“These new rooms were designed with both the patient and the care team in mind,” said Jamie Kabanuk, chief nursing officer of AdventHealth Daytona Beach. “Patients and their families are involved with their plan of care while our nurses and other clinicians have tools that help them communicate and coordinate care more efficiently. It gives our teams greater visibility into what is happening with each patient while helping patients and families feel more informed.”
The project increases AdventHealth Daytona Beach’s footprint to nearly 1 million square feet.
Four new surgical suites bring the hospital’s total to 22 while additional CT and MRI equipment expands imaging capacity.
Larger pharmacy, laboratory and sterile processing areas support the additional patient and surgical capacity.
The project also adds 287 parking spaces for patients, families and team members.
“For us, this expansion is personal,” said Eric Lunde, president and CEO of AdventHealth Daytona Beach. “We’ve seen firsthand what it means when a patient like Josiah suddenly needs highly specialized care. Through the Jill Simpkins and Gale Lemerand Neuroscience Center, our team was able to provide that care when Josiah and his family needed it most. Now, this expansion means more patients and families in our community will have access to that level of specialized care close to home.”
This project is the latest chapter in AdventHealth Daytona Beach’s history of investing in the community.
When it opened in July 2009, the 718,000-square-foot hospital was more than twice the size of the 42-year-old Ormond Beach facility it replaced.
The campus was designed with future growth in mind, and the newly completed construction project continues that evolution.
“Today’s expansion reflects the same long-term thinking that shaped this hospital from the beginning,” said Rob Deininger, president and CEO of AdventHealth’s East Florida Division. “We don’t know the names of the patients who will need these rooms next year or 10 years from now, but we know they and their families will be counting on us. Our job is to be ready for them.”
The project also brought back a familiar partner, Robins & Morton, which constructed the original AdventHealth Daytona Beach campus between 2006 and 2009.
“This milestone is especially meaningful for our team,” said Angel Colon, operations manager for Robins & Morton. “To return 17 years later and help expand this facility for the next generation of patients and caregivers has been an incredible honor.”
For the next family facing a medical crisis like Josiah Stubbs’, this expansion means more advanced clinical care and specialized resources will be available across Volusia County than ever before.
“Josiah is thriving today because of the exceptional care he received from the team at AdventHealth Daytona Beach,” Brooke Stubbs said. “We are thrilled to see this new unit take shape. It will foster an environment of excellence, allowing caregivers to continue providing the specialized care that changed our son’s life. Every time we pass the hospital, we are reminded of how grateful we are.”
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