Orlando (Fla.) Health’s Rockledge Hospital and four hospital-based outpatient departments closed April 22, eliminating 940 jobs.
Orlando Health acquired the 298-bed facility from Dallas-based Steward Health Care in October 2024 for $439 million. In late February, the health system shared plans to close the hospital due to “years of neglect” that left the facility unable to meet the health system’s patient care standards.
“Orlando Health knew the Rockledge hospital was in bad condition, but we didn’t know it was dangerous until we started opening walls and ceilings, post-acquisition,” a spokesperson for Orlando Health said in an April 21 statement shared with Becker’s.
Some of the issues noted at Rockledge Hospital included extensive mold, sanitary sewer line corrosion in numerous locations, structural damage and temporary air conditioning to compensate for a failed unit, the statement said.
Following the closure, Orlando Health plans to open the Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital in June 2026. The more than 300-inpatient bed facility will also comprise 69 emergency and observation beds, 11 operating rooms, four cardiac and interventional suites, and an 18-bed intensive care unit, which will accommodate 36 patients at full build-out. It is expected to create more than 1,500 new jobs, according to the system.
The health system also shared plans in mid-April to spend more than $750 million on a new hospital, freestanding emergency departments and physician offices over the next four years. While a location for the facilities has not yet been determined, they will be located throughout Florida’s Brevard County.
“Hospital construction costs are estimated at $600 million,” the statement said. Freestanding emergency room costs are estimated at $30 million each. Orlando Health will invest an additional $60 million in medical pavilions, physician practices and other facilities and services in Brevard County.”
