The hospital chain HCA is planning to spend $70 million to build three new independent emergency rooms to meet the healthcare needs of growing communities in northern Pinellas County.
The HCA Florida Sunlake Emergency, which will be part of HCA Florida Trinity Hospital, will be built at the corner of Sunlake Boulevard and State Highway 54 in southern Pasco County.
Another emergency room, the HCA Florida Oak Hill South Emergency, is planned at Mariner Road in the Spring Hill area of Hernando County. We will partner with HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital.
A third emergency room will be built in the Lecanto area of Citrus County.
“We are pleased to announce that we are committed to providing a range of services to our customers,” said Jyric Sims, president of HCA Healthcare West Florida Division.
An HCA official said investments are needed to accommodate the population growth. Pasco has grown with 500,000 residents since 1970 and is projected to add more than 200,000 new residents in 2045, a 40% increase.
“Pasco County is one of the fastest growing counties in the United States, and opening a fourth independent emergency room will allow us to better serve our community’s health care needs.”
Construction of the three facilities began this year and is expected to be completed by 2026.
Hospital chains are increasingly adding smaller, free emergency departments that are less attached to traditional hospitals to get closer to communities and reduce waiting times.
In 2022, HCA opened its first independent emergency facility in Florida on the southeast corner of Hillsboro Avenue and Interstate 275.
