Orlando (Fla.) Health has bought nearly 40 acres of land in Brevard County for $29 million, a key step in its plan to replace a hospital it shuttered earlier this year due to severe structural issues, according to the Orlando Business Journal.
The health system on April 22 closed Rockledge Hospital and four hospital-based outpatient departments, eliminating 940 jobs. Orlando Health acquired the 298-bed facility from Dallas-based Steward Health Care in October 2024 as part of a $439 million deal that also included Melbourne Regional Medical Center and Sebastian River Medical Center.
“Years of neglect” left the hospital in such poor condition that it did not meet the organization’s standards for patient care, a spokesperson for Orlando Health previously told Becker’s.
“Following in-depth inspections that could only occur after acquisition, it was determined that the cost to repair and renovate Rockledge Hospital far exceeds the cost of a new, state-of-the-art hospital,” according to the health system. “Construction of a new hospital within the region may take several years, which is longer than our experts feel Rockledge Hospital can realistically remain open,”
Orlando Health plans to invest more than $750 million over four years into new healthcare infrastructure across Brevard County. That includes a replacement hospital, freestanding emergency departments and physician offices. The hospital alone is projected to cost $600 million.
The health system confirmed to Becker’s that the newly acquired land will be used for those planned facilities, although specific site details have not been announced.
Separately, Orlando Health is moving forward with the Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital, set to open in June. The hospital will include more than 300 inpatient beds, 69 emergency and observation beds, 11 operating rooms, four cardiac and interventional suites, and an 18-bed intensive care unit, with capacity for 36 patients at full build-out.
