Bartow Regional Medical Center Expansion Set to Begin

Bartow Regional Medical Center is expanding to meet the needs of a growing population. 

The BayCare Board of Trustees approved a plan on June 4, that will take the hospital from a 72-bed hospital to 90 beds, along with enhancing its emergency, catheterization lab and surgical services departments. 

“Bartow Regional Medical Center is located in one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation,” said Karen Kerr, the hospital's president. “This project aligns perfectly with our mission to improve the health of all we serve. Our team has been working for months to determine how best to care for our community and we’re excited to move forward.” 

The project, designed by Tampa-based HDR Architecture, has multiple phases, Kerr said. The first step is to relocate Bartow Regional Medical Center's helipad to make room for the expanded Emergency Department, which will add 27 examination areas and a second floor. The following expansions are also planned: 

• Moving the ICU to the new second floor and doubling the size from 6 to 12 beds 
• Adding a 12-bed ICU step down unit to the new second floor 
• Adding one additional cath lab/interventional radiology suite  
• Adding two additional operating rooms 
• Adding 11 new post anesthesia care unit (PACU) bays 
• Adding space for Sterile Processing Department (SPD) 
• Adding space for Clinical Engineering 

The project also includes renovations to: Pharmacy, Lab, Operating Room Support, SPD, and Central Plant areas. 

The $110 million project is targeted to begin construction by the end of this year.

Bartow Regional Medical Center joined BayCare Health System in 2016. Since then, Polk County’s population has increased by more than 152,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2018, Bartow Regional Medical Center saw about 37,000 emergency visits, and in 2023, the hospital saw 40,700 such patients.  

“We’re committed to growing along with our community so we can meet their needs and provide access to high-quality healthcare that’s close to home,” said BayCare Co-Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Guy. “We’re excited that this project will put our patients first, as we always do.” 

In the years since BayCare acquired Bartow Regional, the hospital has become a Primary Stroke Center (PSC)-certified hospital by the DNV, received certification as a robotic surgery center of excellence, established a STEMI program, provided cutting-edge services to the community such as aquablation and earned “A” grades from The Leapfrog Group, which assesses hospital safety. 

Bartow Regional Medical Center is a 72-bed acute care hospital serving South Lakeland, Bartow, Ft. Meade, Mulberry, rural south Polk County and northern Hardee County. Physicians and health care professionals at Bartow Regional Medical Center provide a variety of services. The hospital is equipped with four surgery suites and two gastroenterology suites. The emergency services department is staffed with board-certified emergency physicians and specially trained nurses, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to treat all types of emergency situations. The hospital is located at 2200 Osprey Blvd., Bartow, Florida. For more information: BayCare.org/BRMC.