Orange City, FL - Florida Hospital recently announced a plan for the $100 million expansion of Florida Hospital Fish Memorial (FHFM) in Orange City.
“For more than a century, Florida Hospital has been committed to providing exceptional care with uncommon compassion,” said Florida Hospital Regional CEO for Volusia and Flagler Counties, David Ottati. “West Volusia has seen rapid growth and Florida Hospital is committed to providing high-quality healthcare 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 Florida Hospital Fish Memorial CEO, Rob Deininger. “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 Fish Memorial CEO, Rob Deininger)
The 20-bed birth care center’s medical director will be Florida Hospital Medical Group OB-GYN Dr. Jon Sweet. Sweet is a board-certified OB-GYN trained in minimally invasive and robotic-assisted gynecologic surgery. He is a founding physician of Florida Women’s Center and currently practices at the Deltona Health Park outpatient center. Florida Hospital plans to spend $1 million to recruit OB-GYN physicians and pediatricians to help care for the area’s newborns and children. Delivery services, which are currently available at Florida Hospital DeLand, will be moved to a new unit at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial. Prenatal and GYN services will still be available at both Florida Hospital DeLand and Florida Hospital Fish Memorial after the new project is completed. “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 Florida Hospital DeLand CEO, Lorenzo Brown. “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.”
(Florida Hospital DeLand CEO, Lorenzo Brown)
“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,” said the nurse manager at Florida Hospital DeLand’s BirthCare Center, Vickie Cuccarese. “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!”
(Nurse manager at Florida Hospital DeLand’s BirthCare Center, Vickie Cuccarese)
According to Florida Hospital, $20 million of the $100 million project total will be spent on the birth care center alone. Project construction is set to begin in May and is expected to be finished in 2020. The project includes a four-story tower dedicated to services such as enhanced cardiac, intensive care, surgical, obstetrics, and more. Patient rooms will be privatized and the number of licensed beds will increase from 175 to 225. The project will also add a pediatric emergency care center and will expand the size of Florida Hospital Fish Memorial’s emergency department.
(Renderings of the new FHFM)
Photos courtesy of Florida Hospital. Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2018.
