AdventHealth breaks ground on Winter Garden hospital

WINTER GARDEN  About two years down the road, Winter Garden residents needing inpatient health care won’t have to leave city limits to access it.

AdventHealth broke ground Thursday, March 14, on the newest phase of its medical complex across from Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves. When AdventHealth Winter Garden’s new, 100-bed inpatient pavilion opens, it also will be the city’s only inpatient hospital.

“Winter Garden is a very fast-growing community and we have a very bright future,” said Winter Garden Mayor John Rees. “The presence of AdventHealth is an important part of that future. …For the first time in a long time, when this hospital opens residents of Winter Garden will be able to access an extensive range of services without leaving our city.”

The seven-story, 300,000-square-foot building complements the existing 24-bed emergency room and medical office building also on site.

“This is an exciting day — it’s exiting for AdventHealth and it’s very exciting for Winter Garden,” said AdventHealth Winter Garden CEO Carl Dupper. “At AdventHealth our goal is to bring wholeness to the communities we serve. We do this by providing considerate, loving, compassionate care to you and your family — care that’s also close to home. We’re extremely proud of the work we’ve done in Winter Garden to provide this type of care to all of West Orange County.”

This expansion is expected to create about 700 jobs, with an average annual wage of more than $60,000. Winter Garden District 4 Commissioner Colin Sharman said that the economic impact from the first phase of AHWG was 200 employees, and the opening of the medical-office building has since added onto that.

The AHWG emergency-department staff has seen tens of thousands of patients since the facility’s opening in 2016, according to AdventHealth, and by the end of 2019 it is projected to have treated more than 100,000 patients total.

“The construction of the (newest) expansion is going to bring even more jobs, and the permanent facility will have more permanent employees, making a big impact on the community and our economic situation here in Winter Garden,” Sharman said.

AdventHealth staff also is looking forward to another important aspect of the impact its services will have on the community — bringing health care closer to home. Staff said that when residents have health care that is close to home, it is more convenient for both patients and families.

“We take care of patients every day that need services that are outside of our emergency department and beyond what we can provide,” Dr. Miles Bennett, medical director of the emergency department. “Until now those patients unfortunately had to be transferred to another facility. Once this inpatient pavilion opens we’ll be able to treat those patients close to home rather than having to transfer out of our community.”

Overall, Dupper said, he and his staff are looking forward to better serving the health care needs for residents of both Winter Garden and West Orange County.

“When patients come to our emergency department we want them to be able to get their full care in Winter Garden and not have to go to Orlando or another center of care,” Dupper said. “This is where you live, work, play, eat, sleep, and this is where you should also get your health care. We’re excited to join you in your health care journey and we’re going to serve you well in the years to come.”