Hospital starts $28.5M expansion

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Lakewood Ranch Medical Center in east Manatee County has launched a $28.5 million expansion.

The expansion will involve redesigning 40,000 square feet within the 180,000-square-foot hospital that will enable an additional 20,000 square feet of usable space.

According to a YourObserver.com article, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center CEO Andy Guz says the expansion is needed because of growth in the community. He and his staff decided extensive remodeling could make better use of the space.

The project will include two new operating rooms and shell space for two more; an expanded surgical waiting area; an expanded preoperative space; a post-surgical space; and an additional heart catheterization lab.

Work on the expansion began Feb. 9. It's the hospital's largest expansion project since it opened in September 2004. The construction costs were privately funded. Suburban Philadelphia-based Universal Health Services operates the medical center.