University of Florida Health in Gainesville will open the UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital and the UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital next month.
In a news release, UF Health said the $415 million hospitals will include 216 private rooms — 120 for heart and vascular patients and 96 for neurological and neurosurgical patients — as well as 15 operating rooms.
"Due to the tremendous efforts of our faculty and their healthcare teams in providing healthcare that puts the patient at the center of everything we do, UF Health experienced tremendous growth in recent years," said David Guzick, MD, PhD, UF senior vice president for health affairs and UF Health president. "By 2013, it was clear that we would need additional space to meet the growing needs of our patients. Therefore, with enthusiastic support of our hospital board, we made the commitment to build two new hospitals devoted to patients with heart and vascular disease, and to those with neurology and neurosurgical conditions."
University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs, PhD, added the hospitals are also expected to "spur the translation of scientific discoveries and enhance our training of healthcare professionals."
The hospitals, which together will encompass 521,104 square feet under one roof, are slated to open in December.