ER, primary and specialty services to fill local care gap in fast-growing Clermont
CLERMONT – AdventHealth is making a $35 million investment in the health of Clermont residents. The organization plans to bring an extensive range of medical services, along with a freestanding emergency room, to serve the fast-growing city and surrounding area of south Lake County.
Located adjacent to the intersection of State Road 50 and Citrus Tower Boulevard, the ER will be approximately 19,000 square feet, with 24 patient rooms (including two pediatric-friendly rooms); respiratory therapy; diagnostic imaging, including CT scans, X-ray and ultrasound; and a full-service laboratory. The ER will be staffed by a comprehensive clinical team including board-certified emergency physicians and emergency nurses.
“It is a privilege to expand our care network to better serve Clermont and the surrounding south Lake County community,” said Abel Biri, president and CEO of AdventHealth Waterman, who will also oversee the Clermont ER. “This growth demonstrates our commitment to provide convenient, exceptional whole person care close to home.”
Next door, AdventHealth will build a two-story, 36,000-square-foot health park that will include primary and specialty care practices, imaging, outpatient sports medicine and rehab, and lab services.
“We’ve had a Centra Care in Clermont for a dozen years, and during that time the community has experienced extraordinary growth,” said Dr. Scott Brady, senior vice president of ambulatory services for the AdventHealth Central Florida Division. “The health care needs of the area have far outpaced the available services. That means people need to travel outside their area for the care they need. Our goal as an organization is to provide care close to home no matter where you live, so we are looking forward to coming in and meeting those pressing needs. We also see Clermont, being a center for athletic training and fitness, as a natural fit with the culture at AdventHealth, which emphasizes prevention and healthy habits in ensuring long-term health.
The health park will offer same-day appointments, expanded 7 a.m.-7 p.m. hours for patient convenience, and specially trained staff providing concierge-level service. The health park will give consumers a seamless experience, with a single check-in and a single bill for all services. In addition, all forms, registration and appointment scheduling can be completed online from home, or at an on-site kiosk, for a completely paperless experience.
“Health parks represent a dramatic reimagining of the health-care experience,” said Brady. “The health park concept came out of asking consumers what they want in their health care experience. People prefer not to have to shuttle between doctor’s offices, sign in at each one, and then receive multiple bills. They want the experience to be as seamless and convenient as possible. We liken it to shopping at a department store – you may buy items from different departments, but everything you need is in that one store, and you only need to check out once. This is a new product for us – the Clermont health park will be only the second in our system (the first is under construction in Osceola County). It’s a great example of our drive to become a consumer-centric organization.”
These new services will meet a significant need in Clermont, which suffers from a shortage of physicians in nearly every specialty, including primary care, cardiology, pediatrics, gastroenterology, oncology, obstetrics and gynecology.
“The health park staff will be approximately 70, including physicians, other clinical roles and support staff. Our organization is always growing, and therefore we have a strong existing recruiting operation. As a national health-care company, AdventHealth is an attractive destination for candidates nationally and beyond,” said Brady.
A construction timeline is being finalized. The ER and health park are expected to open in 2021.
