By Ed Offley
The FSU Health hospital at Ward’s Creek is on track to meet the planned opening date in early 2028, providing the greater Panama City Beach area with a state-of-the-art hospital and medical center.
“We’re a work in progress, and we’ve got a way to go,” TMH Western Market President Andrew Starr told PCB City Council on October 23. He expressed confidence that the facility will be fully operational after a three-month fitting out period in early 2028.
The 87-acre medical complex site, located on the southeast intersection of SR 79 and Philip Griffitts Parkway, has been under construction since groundbreaking last November, Contractors have erected the exterior walls of the five-story hospital and will next be constructing the floor decks for the second and third stories.
When open, FSU Health will be positioned to expand its capacity as patient demand rises with projected population growth, Starr said.
“We are projecting to open with 60 but no more than 80 inpatient beds on Day On, he said. “The actual first phase build will support a 180-bed maximum, allowing for expansion prior to additional construction.” The facility design could support up to 600 beds with additional construction.
Data on the planned staffing levels of physicians, nurses and support staff are currently unavailable, nor is the projected annual payroll, Starr told PCB Life. The total construction budget “is in the nine figures,” ($100 million at minimum), he said.
The hospital will include an emergency center and other inpatient services such as surgery, cardiology, imaging and other healthcare services.
It is located next to the four-story, 80,000-square-foot TMH Physician Partners medical office building, which opened last October 17. Currently occupied by a Primary Care clinic, Urgent Care clinic, Outpatient Surgery Center, and orthopedic and dermatology clinics. Additional offices providing care in OB-GYN and cardiology are set to open in the near future. The office building is already 80 percent occupied, Starr said.
Starr noted that the various clinics at the Medical Building have seen strong growth in patients in just the first fifteen months of operation. In its first month, the Urgent Care clinic treated 413 patients, with the number rising to 671 in September of this year. Similarly, the Pulmonary Clinic’s monthly patient flow rose from 114 patients to 447.
Starr said the medical complex development effort goes beyond construction. TMH is working with Gulf Coast State College, Florida State University and Haney Technical Center to coordinate training programs for nurses and medical technicians who will staff the hospital.
The FSU Health medical center is a joint venture of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Inc., Florida State University and the St. Joe Company.
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