AdventHealth, a national nonprofit health care system with two hospitals in nearby Flagler County, broke ground Tuesday, March 25, on a 12-bed off-site emergency department in south-central St. Johns County.
The new facility will be located off State Road 207 near the intersection with Wildwood Drive and is projected to open in the second quarter of 2026. Plans for the project began about a year ago.
“Today is a milestone moment, not just for AdventHealth but for our St. Johns County community,” said David Weis, president and CEO for AdventHealth Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
He added that “with a mission rooted in faith and a culture that prioritizes compassion, we’re not just building an emergency room here. We’re building a partnership with this community. Everything that we do, every decision that we make is about improving the health of the communities we serve.”
He said this project was “just the beginning.” On Feb. 5, AdventHealth acquired 21.5 acres in the World Commerce Center, located mid-county near I-95, for $13.14 million. Weis suggested that more details on that project would be released soon.
The county’s recent population boom may have played a role in attracting investment by the health system. Other health care facilities and hospitals have similarly responded in recent years.
“St. Johns County is one of the fastest growing areas in the state of Florida, and growth brings new opportunity; it also brings new responsibilities,” Weis said.
He noted that AdventHealth recently invested more than $200 million in the health care infrastructure of Flagler County, where it opened a second hospital and the Freytag Cancer Center and brought in more physicians. With regard to expansion into St. Johns County, Weis said the health care system was not here just for the short term.
“We’re committed to meeting the needs of this community today, tomorrow and for generations to come,” he said.
“This new emergency department will provide expert, immediate care when minutes matter the most,” said Denyse Bales-Chubb, president and CEO of AdventHealth Flagler and St. Johns counties. “But just as important, it will connect patients seamlessly to follow-up care, ensuring that they have the support they need beyond the ER.”
She made the distinction between this stand-alone emergency department and an urgent care clinic. The facility would be open around the clock, 365 days a year. Licensed as an emergency department under the hospital, it will have board-certified emergency room physicians and RNs certified in emergency care. It will also have lab and imaging onsite.
“Designed with the latest medical technology and staffed by a team of highly skilled emergency medicine clinicians, this ER will serve this community with excellence, making emergency care more accessible and reducing wait times,” Bales-Chubb said.
Dr. Daniel McDermott, the emergency medical director for AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, elaborated on the nature of the health system’s approach.
“No one ever plans to need an emergency department,” he said. “When someone walks or is rushed through our doors, they’re often experiencing one of the most frightening moments of their lives. In those critical moments, patients and families aren’t just looking for expert medical care. They need reassurance, compassion and a team that truly sees them.”
“We’re excited about this opportunity to grow further north,” Bales-Chubb said. “We believe that St. Johns County is a community that is looking for a different type of health care, and we believe that AdventHealth provides that. It’s whole-person care — taking care of mind, body and spirit.”
AdventHealth is one of the largest faith-based health systems in the United States. It cares for nearly 9 million patients each year across the nine states that it serves. It has more than 100,000 “team members” nationwide, 56,000 of whom live in Florida.
