Hospital Expands to Serve Community

South Florida Baptist Hospital opened in 1953 at its location at 301 North Alexander Street in Plant City. At that time, the population was around 9,208 – an increase of nearly 23 percent from the previous census, according to U.S. government statistics. The Strawberry Festival was just in its 23rd year. Dr. Jonas Salk had administered the new polio vaccine to himself and his family. And Queen Elizabeth II was crowned the queen of England.

A lot has changed in the 70 years since. Plant City’s population, for example, is now hovering around 40,000. Along with that growth has come a need to enhance and expand the medical needs of its population. As a result, the new South Florida Baptist Hospital will officially open its doors within a year.

The new hospital is located off Exit 22 off Interstate 4, southeast of the intersection of E. Sam Allen Road and North Park Road, less than four miles from the current location. It will feature two six-story towers on a 50-acre plot of land and an 85,000-square-foot medical office building.

Karen Kerr, hospital President, is keenly aware of the area’s growth.

“Our current hospital has had 12 major additions, renovations and expansions over the years,” she said. “We needed to grow but found ourselves landlocked in this space. This hospital will ensure that we can keep serving our community as it continues to grow and change for the next 70 years.”

The new hospital, which broke ground in 2021, will mean that many of the services the community has come to expect from South Florida Baptist Hospital will be expanded as well.

“The new building will have 26 ICU beds and a 30-bed emergency department,” June Ramsey, the hospital’s Director of Patient Services, noted.” It gives us room to add medical office space for outpatient lab services, physician offices and our rehab and wound care services.

We’re also adding to our Labor and Delivery services, Cath labs and Infusion Center, among other departments.”

Naturally, with population growth comes the need for expanded OB services. Labor and Delivery unit Manager Mayra Garcia said her team is excited to grow and better meet the needs of the community.

For Garcia, the ability to expand to meet the needs of the community is also personal. Garcia has lived in Plant City all of her life and has seen the area’s growth. She’s spent her entire nursing career at SFBH and now leads a team that will be expanding to two floors in the new location.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to it,” she said. “I’ve delivered all three of my children at South Florida Baptist and would not have chosen anywhere else. When it comes to growth, a lot starts with OB services and it’s delightful to see all the babies being born in our community. It’s wonderful to know that we can help moms throughout their journey, from obstetrical services, gynecological services as well as neonatal services, provided by our in-house neonatal nurse practitioners. My team and I pride ourselves in providing extraordinary care and taking a personalized approach when caring for all our patients.”

The unit, now on one floor with three labor rooms, two triage rooms and nine mother/baby rooms, will keep the same number of triage rooms but will also have seven labor rooms and 15 mother/baby rooms.

Dr. Carlos Lamoutte, medical director for obstetrics and gynecology services at South Florida Baptist Hospital, was originally recruited along with his wife and physician, Dr. Ana M. Verdeja, by the hospital to come to Plant City in 2000.

“For the last 23 years, we have delivered over 4,000 babies in town and enjoy practicing and living in our growing community,” said Dr. Lamoutte. “Our two youngest kids were born in Plant City and throughout the years, our families and ourselves have also received outstanding medical care at South Florida Baptist Hospital. It’s about being able to continue to provide that top-notch, compassionate care locally, is what makes this move so exciting.”

One of the major health issues facing Hillsborough County residents is heart disease. SFBH’s cath lab performs about 725 heart procedures a year. The cardiac cath lab is a surgical suite where procedures such as angioplasties and stents are performed. Angioplasties and stents open up blood vessels in heart patients. The cath lab is also where pacemakers and defibrillators are surgically implanted in patients. The new hospital means the cath lab will expand from its current two hybrid rooms to two cath rooms, an exclusive interventional radiology suite, and a radial lounge for those recovering from cath procedures through their wrists.

“A lot of the members of our staff have been here for a long time,” said Chuck Queipo, the manager of cardiology services at South Florida Baptist Hospital. “They’re excited about our growth. There’s even a built-in extra space in case we need another lab. These labs are going to offer the best technology to meet our patients’ needs.”

The Infusion Services team had been located in the ICU before the pandemic, but had to move to accommodate the COVID volume. In March 2021, the team moved to the pre-op area. Then they relocated to the administration conference room during the July/August surge, then back to the ICU area. The new hospital will provide the team with a new, permanent home.

“Our patients and the infusion team are the definitions of resilience,” said Maria Ibarra, the nurse manager of the infusion department. “They have all been considerate of the community needs during COVID and have quickly adapted to change. We are eagerly awaiting the opening of our new hospital knowing that our Outpatient Infusion/Oncology services will have its permanent home and will be expanding. We will offer five private rooms along with 15 infusion bays. We will continue to provide our community with the same excellent care. We are honored to be part of this historical moment.”

“We will begin training our teams on all the new equipment, wayfinding, new workflows, and software late this summer,” said Beth Tancredo, Director of Operations. “We want to make sure we’re prepared to open on the first day seamlessly, ready to greet our patients.”

When plans for the new hospital were first unveiled, the hospital’s Foundation began its work on raising funds.

“The response to the SFBH Foundation’s capital campaign has been amazing,” said Jana Butler, the executive director of the Foundation. “In the three months alone, we have raised over $4 million. The significant generosity of the community shows just how important the success of our new hospital is to the residents of Plant City.”

The Foundation offers naming opportunities based on levels of giving. To learn more, visit the Foundation’s website: sfbhfoundation.org/newhospital