The city approved a permit Aug. 27 for Baptist Medical Center and Wolfson Children’s Hospital Jacksonville to expand their emergency care building on the Downtown Southbank at a project cost of $187.38 million.
Phases two through six of the project at 800 Prudential Drive will be 123,908 square feet.
The contractor is Legacy Engineering Inc.
The Downtown Development Review Board granted conceptual and final approval for Baptist, without conditions, on Jan. 16.
Baptist and Wolfson announced in January that the expansion would be built in phases. The four-story facility is expected to be completely open in 2029.
During construction, the Baptist Jacksonville and Wolfson Children’s Hospital ERs will remain open. New signage will direct patients to access ER services.
When completely opened, the facility will have:
• Two distinctive emergency rooms, waiting areas and patient care rooms comprising a total of 100 emergency rooms, 63 for adults and 37 for children, including three pediatric trauma rooms on the first floor.
• Imaging, laboratory and ancillary resources to support efficient emergency and trauma services.
• A new endoscopy suite, plus expanded areas for pre- and post-operative heart care on the second floor.
• Plans to expand by 68 inpatient rooms on the third and fourth floors.
“Our new state-of-the-art emergency and patient tower will greatly increase access to advanced emergency care in our rapidly growing region, ensuring more adults and children can receive timely treatment when minutes matter,” said Michael A. Mayo, president and CEO of Baptist Health via email Aug. 28.
“With two distinctive emergency centers, including one designed for the special needs of children, 100 emergency patient care rooms and dedicated imaging and laboratory services for the emergency department, we are strengthening our commitment to creating a healthier community now and for future generations.”
Adults will use the Baptist Jacksonville emergency entrance. Infants and children through 17 years of age needing care will go to the Wolfson Children’s Hospital emergency center.
As a Level I trauma center, Wolfson Children’s Hospital offers trauma care for all injuries, including burns, drownings, falls, motor vehicle accidents and wounds.
With an around-the-clock in-house pediatric trauma team, patients are provided direct access to specialized care following a severe or life-threatening trauma, when prompt medical care can significantly increase the chances of survival, according to the January release.