In Osceola County, the Florida Hospital of Kissimmee held a ground breaking ceremony as the start of their new expansion on the emergency department.
The $7-million expansion will increase bed count from 15 to 35 beds for emergency care, and will triple the square footage of the facility.
The emergency department currently sees more than 43,000 patients a year, but hospital officials say with a growing population, they're expecting that number to jump up to 50,000 a year in the near future. Several of the new rooms will be kid friendly.
"We've been working very hard on improving the patient experience and this will decrease wait times. This will improve the experience for family members and patients as they come into our emergency department," said Lorenzo Brown, Florida Hospital Kissimmee COO
Construction for 29 of the 35 beds is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The final phase will be finished by next summer.