Health First is accelerating plans to open Brevard County’s first stand-alone emergency departments, as rival health care company Orlando Health prepares to close its 298-bed Rockledge Hospital later this month.
Health First said it will be opening two free-standing emergency departments. One will be adjacent to Health First’s Business Center at 3300 S. Fiske Blvd., about 1.5 miles from Rockledge Hospital, which will close on April 22. The other will be at a yet-to-be-announced site in south Brevard.
“We’ve been planning to grow our emergency-care network, and the timing could not be more critical for us to accelerate our plans,” Health First President and CEO Terry Forde said, in announcing the location of the future Rockledge emergency department.
Specific timelines for the opening of the Health First facilities and the cost of their construction were not announced.
Orlando Health bought Rockledge Hospital in October as part of Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Also included in the $439 million deal were Steward’s 119-bed Melbourne Regional Medical Center (now known as Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital) and its 178-bed Sebastian River Medical Center in Sebastian (now known as Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital). Orlando Health said it has no plans to close those hospitals.
On Feb. 20, Orlando Health announced it was closing Rockledge Hospital on April 22, citing the hospital’s poor physical condition that the company said made it unsafe for patients and staff.
The decision has sparked protests from local residents and hospital staff, and concern from elected officials.
With Rockledge Hospital’s closing, Brevard County will have six other general hospitals. That includes four operated by Health First in Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay and Viera; one operated by Orlando Health in Melbourne; and one operated by Parrish Health Care in Titusville. Health First’s Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach is scheduled to close in 2027, when a new Health First hospital opens on Merritt Island, about 4 miles west of the current hospital.
Changes in BCFR ambulance transports
Health First plans to build a 12-bed, free-standing emergency department complex adjacent to Health First’s Business Center at 3300 S. Fiske Blvd. in Rockledge.
Separately, Brevard County Emergency Medical Services on Monday is implementing new procedures to ease the expected strain on Brevard County Fire Rescue crews involving the transport of patients to the existing hospital emergency departments — a strain caused by Rockledge Hospital’s closing.
That’s because, beginning at 7 a.m. Monday, the Rockledge Hospital emergency department no longer will accept transports from emergency medical services crews, such as from BCFR. Patients who walk in or drive themselves to the Rockledge emergency department from April 7 until the hospital’s official closing “will be stabilized, and transferred” to another hospital, Orlando Health said.
As part of the county’s effort, Brevard County EMS is coordinating with Coastal Health Systems of Brevard to provide patient transportation to local hospitals in the case of non-life-threatening injuries and other medical conditions. Under the plan:
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911 calls will be triaged, or sorted out, to ensure the correct resources are being dispatched for patients.
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BCFR could respond to a call, assess the patient, and contact Coastal to transport the patient to a local hospital for non-emergency cases.
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Once BCFR has verified the condition is non-life-threatening and the Coastal unit has been dispatched, the BCFR unit can leave the scene to ensure prompt response to emergency calls.
This will allow BCFR crews to decrease the total time they are handling calls, transporting people to hospitals and waiting at the hospital emergency department with them — thus are unavailable to respond to other calls.
The county said this will help maintain quick response times, and ensure advanced life support services are available for patients, when needed.
Health First’s emergency department plans
This artist rendering depicts a concept of what a Health First free-standing emergency department might look like.
Health First said it is working to develop a 13,000-square-foot, 12-bed, free-standing emergency department in Rockledge. Architectural assessments have confirmed the site’s viability, and Health First is working with Rockledge officials on zoning and permitting. Discussions with the Florida Department of Transportation are underway to improve traffic flow in the area.
Health First said its plans to open free-standing emergency departments had been in the works for several years, as the population is projected to grow steadily into the next decade. However, Health First now is fast-tracking those efforts.
Health First said a second free-standing emergency department is in the early stages of development to serve the southern part of the county. Health First expects to announce more details once plans advance further and permitting is underway, with an announcement likely within the next three months.
“We’re moving quickly, but carefully,” said Keila Stradtner, Health First system vice president for facilities construction and real estate. “We want the community to know that these emergency departments have been in the works — and we’re accelerating our efforts to meet the moment and ensure every resident has access to safe, timely care.”
Johnette Gindling, president and CEO of the Space Coast Health Foundation, said free-standing ERs “are a new trend in health care, because they allow services closer to where residents live, due to their smaller size, while providing the same care as a traditional hospital ER. Stand-alone ERs could enhance access to health care for Brevard residents.”
Health First said the free-standing emergency departments would be fully equipped and staffed around the clock by emergency physicians and trained care teams. Such facilities can help reduce travel times for patients, as well as support faster treatment.
Health First’s free-standing emergency department plans would be subject to approval from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and other government agencies.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
Brevard’s other hospitals
Health First operates the 550-bed Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne; the 150-bed Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach; the 120-bed Palm Bay Hospital; and the 98-bed Viera Hospital, which recently expanded by 14 beds with the move of a labor and delivery unit there from Cape Canaveral Hospital. Holmes is Brevard County’s only Level II trauma center.
Health First said it plans to expand the patient bed counts at some of its hospitals in the future.
The other general hospitals in Brevard are the 119-bed Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital and Parrish Healthcare‘s 210-bed Parrish Medical Center in Titusville.
The main geographic areas that Rockledge Hospital draws patients from include Rockledge, Cocoa, Merritt Island, Port St. John, Canaveral Groves and other unincorporated areas north of Cocoa. After the hospital closes, many of those patients likely would go to Cape Canaveral Hospital, Parrish Medical Center or Viera Hospital.
When to call 911 for medical emergency
Brevard County Emergency Medical Services says residents and visitors should use 911 for emergencies like heart attack, stroke, severe injuries, uncontrolled bleeding and life-threatening allergic reactions.
But if a loved one has a non-emergency medical condition, it suggests considering taking them to the nearest hospital or urgent care for faster and more efficient treatment, rather than calling 911.
Emergency room vs. urgent care
Health First provides this guidance:
Emergency room: For severe burns, chest pains, severe allergic reactions, neck and spinal injury, severe breaks, seizures, heavy bleeding, loss of consciousness.
Urgent care: For colds and flu, insect bites, neck and back discomfort, urinary tract and yeast infections, ear pain and infections, pink eye, sprains, non-severe breaks, stitches.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Free-standing emergency department planned by Health First in Rockledge
