As construction of the state-of-the-art 80-bed Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel continues at a rapid pace, another order of important hospital business was held Tuesday, November 29, when the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation held its first official board meeting.
“It was a monumental day for the new hospital, as we met for the first time as the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation Board of Trustees,” says Connie Bladon, executive director of the Foundation. “Our board members have diverse backgrounds and deep experience in business and philanthropy within the Wesley Chapel community. Their collective experience will enhance our foundation’s efforts to serve this community as we plan initiatives to elevate health care in Wesley Chapel.”

The Board of Trustees, comprised of nine members from the community in addition to Ms. Bladon and Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel President and CEO Brian Adams, started work immediately Tuesday by identifying key initiatives for which fundraising will be crucial. A tour of the hospital and grounds followed the inaugural meeting. The nine members of the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation Board are: Jerry Bell, Presidio Network Solutions; Alayne Berkins and Charles Berkins, Rochester Electro Medical, Inc.; John Braumuller, Synovus Bank; Dawn Coe-Jones, former LPGA player now with Golf Canada; Todd Johnson, Strategic Business Associates; Ernie Marquart, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP; Michael Morris, Hanna, Lamar & Morris CPAs; and J.D. Porter, Wiregrass Ranch. The Board will meet monthly starting in January 2012.

The full-service Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is scheduled to open in the fall of 2012 and is the largest construction project in the area in many years. The hospital is already giving back to the community by ensuring that more than 75 percent of the vendors, contractors, labor and other services needed to build the hospital originate from the Wesley Chapel community.

The 52-acre hospital site is visually stunning, surrounded by woods and lakes, located just north of the Wiregrass Mall on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. Interesting facts about the new Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel include:

4: miles of underground utilities at the hospital
6: number of floors in the hospital
13: number of building permits required for the hospital before construction begins
30: truck loads of cement poured into the foundation one day this month
37: miles of piping throughout the hospital
52: total number of acres
75: percent of local workers hired to design and build the hospital
6,000: feet of cabinet work (more than one mile) throughout the hospital
322,000: pounds of sheet metal used in constructing the hospital
400,000: cubic yards of dirt moved to raise the construction site to comply with flood zone parameters by the government water agency ‘Swiftmud’

About Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is a not-for-profit 80-bed hospital that is currently under construction. When it opens in the fall of 2012, the state-of-the-art hospital is expected to be the crown jewel of Wesley Chapel, serving residents with a comprehensive line of health care services including an emergency department with helipad, orthopedics and sports medicine, general surgery, women’s services, obstetrics, pediatrics and a cutting-edge medical fitness center.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held December 14, 2010, to showcase the scenic 52-acre site surrounding the future hospital. Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is part of the Florida Hospital Tampa Bay Division. For more information, please visit FHWesleyChapel.org.