Baptist Medical Center South breaks ground on new eight-story tower; more expansion on the way

Baptist South continues to grow to care for patients in flourishing southern Duval and northern St. Johns counties

As South Jacksonville continues to experience rapid growth, Baptist Medical Center South is breaking ground on a new eight-story patient tower. It is the fourth patient tower to be built on the 32-acre campus at the intersection of I-95 and Old St. Augustine Road.

The 152,000-square-foot tower will ultimately house 138 additional patient beds, bringing Baptist South's total number of beds to 407. It is expected to be completed by first quarter 2018.

Initially, Baptist South will build out the interior of the first four floors, which will provide expanded surgical space, additional Labor & Delivery patient rooms and Medical-Surgical rooms, as well as support space. The remaining floors will be completed as needed to keep pace with the growing need for health care services in the area.

The communities in southern Duval and northern St. Johns counties have seen an 18 percent population increase during the past 10 years, which is nearly triple the amount of growth in the five-county Jacksonville area, according to the Nielsen Company. Projected growth shows that by 2021, there will be 265,000 residents in the area, a 10 percent increase compared to a projected growth rate of 6 percent for Florida and the five-county Jacksonville area.

"We are very gratified by the response of the community to Baptist South. From the beginning, this hospital campus was designed to accommodate expansion. We are pleased to grow with the community and meet the expanding health care needs," said Baptist Health President and CEO Hugh Greene.

Baptist South has plans to build a third five-story medical office building, which will house primary care and specialty physicians' offices, and a four-story parking garage with 1,200 complementary parking spaces. The cost for the expansion, including the new tower, will be $131 million. The architect for the expansion is Gresham, Smith and Partners and the contractor is Batson-Cook Company.

"We have seen tremendous growth here at Baptist South," said newly appointed Hospital President Nicole Thomas. "When the hospital opened in 2005, we had 3,600 patient admissions for the year. Now, we admit 17,000 patients a year."

Baptist South's award-winning Labor and Delivery area had just 639 births in 2005. Now, it welcomes nearly 3,000 babies a year. Eighteen additional maternity suites will be a big plus for the flourishing area, which has a high population of young families.

"Through the years, Baptist South has grown to bring advanced health care services to the community, including becoming the second-busiest Labor & Delivery unit in town," said Thomas. "Residents can continue to expect innovative health care services close to home at Baptist South."