Health care giant to build 100-bed hospital in region

FORT MYERS — HCA Healthcare, one of the largest health care providers in the country, plans to build three acute care hospitals in Florida, including one in Fort Myers.

The Fort Myers facility is planned at 100 beds, according to a statement. The company also announced plans to build a  90-bed facility in Gainesville and a 60-bed hospital near The Villages. These new facilities will complement HCA Florida Healthcare’s existing presence in those rapidly growing communities, HCA officials say. HCA Healthcare currently has 47 hospitals in Florida, including more than 400 affiliated sites, under the brand HCA Florida Healthcare.

“Florida continues to experience rapid population growth, and the addition of these new hospitals will help HCA Florida Healthcare meet the increasing need for acute care services in these areas,” HCA Healthcare CEO Sam Hazen says in the release. “We are excited to expand our presence in the state and enhance our ability to care for patients.”

HCA’s announcement comes a month after the board overseeing Lee Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in Florida, moved forward with its own new acute care hospital campus in Fort Myers. It’s on a 52-acre site along Challenger Boulevard, between Colonial Boulevard and Winkler Avenue, and will include 216 beds.

The new hospitals are a continuation of HCA Healthcare’s recent commitment in Florida where the organization has invested approximately $3 billion over the last three years, the release states. This includes the $360 million HCA Florida University Hospital, which opened earlier this month in Davie, as well as significant renovations and expansions across the state to accommodate new, state-of-the-art equipment.

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of health care services comprising 183 hospitals and approximately 2,000 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1968.

United as a statewide network in 2021, HCA Florida Healthcare includes 11,000 experienced doctors and 77,000 colleagues that server more than 6.4 million patients each year.