Construction is beginning on the largest expansion project yet at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, as we look forward to the addition of new operating rooms, a catheterization lab and much more.
Designs and permits are in place, and the first phase of the infrastructure upgrade to accommodate our current and future growth has begun. Chief Executive Officer Andy Guz says when the hospital was built, there was an entire first floor wing that was left shelled out to allow for future expansion. “That area will become the new home for medical staff, a doctors’ lounge, and several administrative departments including quality, risk management, information technology, marketing, physician relations and additional conference rooms. The relocation of those departments creates the needed space for a new pre- and post-surgical area, along with a second heart catheterization lab,” he says. “But even more exciting is the addition of two new operating suites, and shelling out two additional operating suites for future growth.” In addition, a new MRI and CT scan will be installed in the main hospital.
Guz says they have experienced high levels of growth in the community as well as in the hospital. “Our inpatient levels are consistently increasing, and we are recruiting more specialists and offering more services to meet the needs of the community,” he says. “We have patients from Manatee and Sarasota counties, plus the counties that surround them. Also, seasonal residents and visitors can boost hospital volume by approximately 20 percent.”
Guz states that the 48-plus square mile Lakewood Ranch community is designated for 30,000 households, and right now, there are just over 12,000 built. “Many residents who used to be seasonal are becoming permanent residents, and we are seeing a lot of young families in this community. And our hospital has the technology, physicians and services to accommodate them for whatever healthcare needs they have.”