The latest medical facility to call Palm Coast home will open on August 3, 2023, just about the same time this magazine will be hitting the streets. Officially known as AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, the hospital is the largest investment ever in the medical field in Flagler County, carrying a $167 million price tag.
The four-story building is located off Palm Coast Parkway, abutting Bridgehaven Drive on the opposite side of town from the location of its first Palm Coast hospital at 60 Memorial Medical Parkway.
Spanning 158,000 square-feet, AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway has 100 beds, effectively doubling the inpatient capacity in Flagler County and nearly doubling the area’s emergency department services. The hospital also includes state-of-the-art surgical suites, cardiac catheterization labs for heart-related conditions, endoscopy suites for digestive health issues and more.
Complementing the hospital is a 30,000-square-foot medical office building that opened on June 12. The medical office building on the campus of AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway houses a range of specialized services, including orthopedics, cardiology, gastrointestinal, surgical, urology, and gynecology care.
“As a long-time Flagler County resident myself, I am personally thrilled to see this new hospital open,” said Wally De Aquino, president/CEO for AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway (see below) and an area resident since 2005. “Construction began in September 2021, but the planning and preparation were years in the making. Flagler County – and Palm Coast in particular – has experienced significant growth in recent years, and to help keep our community healthy, it is important that our health care infrastructure continues to expand and grow too.”
Palm Coast has a predominantly older population and even though families are moving here, retirees still dominate the scene. With aging comes greater health troubles including a significant increase in the possibility of experiencing a heart attack or a cardio vascular failure.
Fortunately, a big part of the expansion of health services in Palm Coast is centered on heart health. AdventHealth pretty much leads the way for heart care in Palm Coast offering care and specialists for acute and chronic conditions including atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia.
As well as the obvious benefits a new hospital brings in terms of medical capabilities for the community there is also an important economic factor that is present. Initially, the hospital will have about 350 employees which is a big contribution to the city’s economy since many of these jobs are higher-paying than retail or most service industry jobs.
And with the new hospital’s presence here there will be more spinoff companies that provide services for hospitals and labs locating here, creating more jobs. This is part of the city’s long-term plan involving a nexus of medical businesses that provide good jobs for the city.
In essence, the hospital provides more needed services and more income to the city which can only be looked at as a big positive for Palm Coast.
