Ascension St. Vincent’s has selected a property in the Northeast quadrant of I-95 and County Road 210 for its new hospital in St. Johns County. The property is part of a mixed-use development known as Fountains at St. Johns. Construction is expected to begin this fall.
The health system is investing $115 million and creating approximately 600 jobs with the creation of the hospital. The facility will be 150,000 square feet and have 56 beds, including eight ICU beds. It will include all of the services a general hospital offers, including, but not limited to, emergency services, short-term hospitalization, cardiovascular care, orthopedics and musculoskeletal care, general surgical services, laboratory and imaging services. The facility will also include shelled space to accommodate future expansion to keep pace with growing community need.
“Our significant investment in this wonderful community is rooted in our desire to continue creating new options for St. Johns County residents to get the care they need, with the highest quality and compassion available, right here at home, right when they need us,” said Ascension Florida and Gulf Coast President and CEO Tom VanOsdol. “Since opening our health center in St. Johns County nearly three years ago, we’ve seen a consistent increase in demand for clinically excellent and convenient care and we look forward to serving local individuals and families in this new way.”
The facility’s location was based on a data-driven analysis of where services were most needed. According to Claritas Demographics, St. Johns County is the fastest growing county in Northeast Florida. It is also currently the largest county in Florida with only one acute care hospital. The county also has the second highest population-to-acute-care-bed ratio in the state, meaning residents must often leave the county to receive inpatient hospital care.
"As we continue to grow and expand, we clearly have a need for additional medical care facilities, so I am thrilled that Ascension St. Vincent's is bringing a very high-quality facility and hundreds of additional jobs to our county," said St. Johns County Commissioner Henry Dean.
“We are so proud to be working with Ascension St. Vincent’s to bring this critical service to an area of the county where there is a huge unmet need,” said Joy Andrews, St. Johns County Deputy County Administrator. “We, as a county, are aggressively pursuing balanced and measured growth and expansion of the healthcare industry in all specialties of healthcare. This new facility will serve our most populated geographic areas and play a critical role for the continued health and well-being of our community.”
The hospital is expected to be completed in 2022. To learn more about Ascension St. Vincent’s, go to www.jaxhealth.com.
