AdventHealth Sebring (Fla.) broke ground Jan. 21 on a $130 million medical tower to help patients receive care closer to home.
The 100,000-square-foot tower will comprise cardiovascular operating rooms, a cardiovascular lab, an advanced outpatient cardiac catheterization lab, new CT imaging technology and an expanded ICU, according to a news release shared with Becker’s.
Becker’s connected with Jason Dunkel, president and CEO of AdventHealth Sebring, AdventHealth Lake Placid (Fla.) and AdventHealth Wauchula (Fla.), and Christine Frederic, chief strategy officer of AdventHealth West Florida Division, to discuss the expansion’s strategic vision and operational rollout.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What drove the decision to invest in this expansion now?
Jason Dunkel: Sebring’s population has grown significantly since 2020 and demand for hospital, physician and outpatient care at AdventHealth Sebring has increased along with it. We have a 67% market share, and our hospital has been operating above capacity since 2024. We are so honored that the community has placed their trust in us to care for them — mind, body and spirit.
We know that our cardiology team is now ready to take the next step to care for more families by increasing capacity and bringing new advanced services, including open heart surgery, closer to home.
Today, many patients in Highlands and Hardee counties still have to travel an hour or more for complex heart and lung care. By offering these procedures in Sebring, our goal is to reduce that burden for patients and allow them to receive the same high level of care they would expect in larger metro areas.
Q: How are you planning to manage the operational scaling, from 100-plus beds to 200 new employees, while maintaining quality of care?
JD: This project adds more than 100,000 square feet of new clinical space, allowing AdventHealth Sebring to eventually grow from 171 inpatient beds to 275, ensuring our community has access to high-quality care for generations to come.
We are using a phased approach to ensure we scale responsibly while supporting our clinical teams and maintaining high-quality care. The first phase of our new tower includes developing three floors of the five total floors, creating an expanded ICU with dedicated cardiovascular surgery beds. After that unit opens in 2027, we will assess the community’s needs. Based on demand, we will decide when to move forward with developing the empty, shelled space on the fourth and fifth floors. This allows us to add quickly in the future as needed.
Q: What’s the expected timeline from groundbreaking to full operation? What are the key milestones you’re tracking?
JD: The first phase of this project is expected to be completed by fall 2027. The timeline for our second phase, which includes building out the shelled space on the fourth and fifth floors, will be dependent on community needs.
Key milestones include opening two new operating rooms in early summer 2027 and having the cardiovascular surgery team fully in place by January 2027. These steps are essential to expanding access to life-saving care in the community.
Q: How does this fit into AdventHealth’s broader growth strategy across Florida?
Christine Frederic: We expanded AdventHealth Sebring to include open heart surgery as part of a broader Florida strategy to bring advanced, high-acuity care closer to the communities that need it most.
As the state’s population continues to age, especially in rural and secondary markets, access to complex cardiovascular services can no longer be limited to urban centers. This investment allows patients in Highlands County and surrounding areas to receive life-saving care close to home while remaining connected to a fully integrated AdventHealth care continuum.
Strategically, it strengthens Sebring as a regional hub within our hub-and-spoke model, ensuring appropriate complex care is delivered locally and seamlessly escalated when needed. It also supports long-term clinical excellence, physician recruitment and system sustainability across West Florida.
Most importantly, it reflects our mission-driven approach to growth, where we remain focused on expanding access, improving outcomes and advancing health equity across Florida.
