A new hospital player is coming to Manatee County. BayCare Health System announced Wednesday that it is planning to open a hospital in Parrish by the end of 2025. It would be Manatee County’s first hospital north of the Manatee River. BayCare plans to build a hospital on the northeast corner of Moccasin Wallow Road and Interstate 75 (by the Publix at Gateway Commons).
The hospital plans announced Wednesday are not to be confused with plans the Manatee County Commission approved in May for a six-story hospital as part of the North River Ranch master-planned community. The healthcare company that would build that hospital has not been announced. BayCare operates 15 hospitals in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, and is working on obtaining zoning approvals as it finalizes construction details.
“As with all our hospitals and services, our mission in Manatee County is to improve the health of all we serve,” BayCare President and CEO Tommy Inzina said in a press release. “That means when we build this hospital, we will extend to Manatee residents our longstanding tradition of community benefit.” BayCare is a not-for-profit health care system that returns to the community roughly 10 percent of its revenue each year in the form of direct charity care, patient financial assistance and direct community programming. Other hospitals operating in Manatee County include HCA Florida Blake Hospital, owned by Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, and Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, owned by Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) in King of Prussia, Pa.
BayCare already serves Manatee County with its home health service, BayCare HomeCare, for those recovering from an illness, injury, or surgery and those who need help managing a chronic health condition. In addition, BayCare Medical Group will open an adult primary care practice in The Shoppes of Moccasin Wallow, located near the intersection of Moccasin Wallow Road and Interstate 75. BayCare’s integrated network of services and its hundreds of locations across West Central Florida also include labs, imaging, ambulatory surgery centers and urgent care centers.
“At BayCare, we put tremendous resources into keeping people well and out of hospitals,” Inzina said. “While hospitals are a critical part of a community’s infrastructure, BayCare strives to provide the right care at the right time for patients. Our extraordinary team members connect with people wherever we can support their health care journey.” BayCare is currently building a new hospital in Wesley Chapel and a replacement hospital for South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. In Manatee County, BayCare’s building permit application requests up to 207 private patient rooms, but the initial construction likely will have a smaller bed count.
“With all of the new homes and buildings going into the area and the need for improved infrastructure, which we are aware is in process, having medical facilities ‘North of the River’ are imperative to the health and safety of the community,” Jennifer Hamey, president of the Parrish Civic Association, wrote in an April 24 letter to the Manatee County Commission. The Parrish hospital will be BayCare’s 17th acute care hospital. At this time, the exact hospital size, construction costs, employment opportunities and timelines are still undetermined, BayCare said. BayCare was formed in 1997 by group of local hospitals to continue providing not-for-profit health care to the Tampa Bay community.
BayCare employs 27,739 in the Tampa Bay area. The Bradenton Herald first reported in February that a 150-bed hospital, a 326-bed assisted living facility, and 247,000 square feet of medical office space was planned in North River Ranch at 9308 Fort Hamer Road. But the identify of the company that would develop it was kept under wraps. In May, Manatee County commissioners approved plans to build a six-story hospital as part of the North River Ranch master-planned community. To learn more about BayCare visit: 2021 Report to the Community.
