HCA Florida opens east St. Cloud emergency room

When a medical emergency arises, minutes can be a matter of life. Now residents of east St. Cloud and eastern Osceola County now have a closer emergency medicine resource with a new HCA Florida Osceola stand-alone emergency facility in east St. Cloud.

Hospital administrators and city and county officials, along with city and county first responders and emergency management staff gathered for a grand opening of the facility, located near the southeast corner of U.S. 192 and Narcoossee Road Tuesday.

“This new facility helps ensure the safety and well-being of our city residents and those just outside of the city,” said St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell, just prior to the ribbon cutting.

The new HCA Florida Osceola Hospital ER joins Orlando Health St. Cloud Hospital as the two emergency room options in St. Cloud and the vicinity.

“Having an emergency room capability in this location now gives us needed options on where we can take critical patients when we respond,” said Alicia Schwan, Assistant Chief of EMS for the St. Cloud Fire Rescue Department, who was on hand for the ceremony.

The new facility, which will tentatively be open for business on Tuesday, Feb. 27, features 11 emergency exam rooms, CT scan, digital X-ray, ultrasound, and on-site laboratory services. One unique feature is an isolation exam room, with an outside entry door directly from the ambulance entrance of the facility.

Emergency conditions that can be treated include injuries, including fractures, stomach and abdominal pain, respiratory infections, chest pain, and stroke. The ER can provide care for patients of all ages, including pediatric emergency services.

The facility has 22 staff members, including physicians, nurses, and technicians, to provide medical services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Many of the staff of this facility live in or near St. Cloud, so what you have are neighbors taking care of neighbors in the community,” said Dr. Jonathan Ortiz, Associate Medical Director of Freestanding Emergency Departments for HCA Florida Osceola Hospital.

The facility broke ground in May 2023 and only took nine months to construct and fully equip.

“With Osceola County one of the fastest growing counties in the entire U.S., and St. Cloud one of the top fastest growing cities in the county, the opening of this facility shows the responsiveness and commitment of HCA Florida Osceola to the community,” said David Shimp, Chief Executive Officer at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital.

For more information on the new HCA Florida Osceola East Emergency facility see https://bit.ly/3SM1zSM.