South Florida Baptist Hospital Plans to Relocate in Plant City

PLANT CITY, Fla., August 10, 2020 — To improve access to health care services for the community it serves, South Florida Baptist Hospital today announced plans to build a new hospital and relocate in Plant City.

The proposed new location is off Exit 22 of I-4, east of the intersection of E. Sam Allen Road and N. Park Road. This is a highly visible location in a high growth area, less than four miles from South Florida Baptist Hospital’s current North Alexander Street location.

The plan calls for building up to 150 private patient rooms with the ability to add another 30 when needed for future expansion. An 85,000 square-foot medical office building also is proposed at the new location, which will be convenient for both patients and physicians who prefer to work near the hospital. Cost of the project is approximately $326 million. 

Construction is expected to begin in Summer 2021 and take about 30 months to complete. Since a whole new hospital will be built, there will be no disruption to patients, physicians or staff at the current hospital. 

“We are committed to providing extraordinary care to our patients and are excited about the opportunity to build a new hospital to extend this mission as we continue to serve our patients in Plant City and the surrounding communities,” said South Florida Baptist Hospital President Karen Kerr.

South Florida Baptist Hospital opened in 1953 and has undergone 12 major additions, renovations and expansions since then. The first addition was in 1969 with a three-story hospital wing and the most recent was in 2017 with expansion of the Heart and Vascular Center.

“After 67 years, we have run out of room to expand the hospital on its present site,” Kerr said. “Also, retrofitting the hospital’s infrastructure to meet the growing technological advances in health care solutions is often an expensive and challenging option. Because of that, we feel that to better meet the growing needs of our community, we need to relocate and build a new hospital.”

South Florida Baptist Hospital employs nearly 800 team members and more than 250 physicians also work in the facility.  Those numbers will remain about the same at the new hospital.

About BayCare Health System

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 15 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.

Photo Caption: An artist’s rendering shows how South Florida Baptist Hospital may look on the new location in Plant City.  The plan calls for building up to 150 private patient rooms with the ability to add another 30 when needed for future expansion.