Medical Care Center Comes to North Port, Florida

In 2008, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System began construction of a 50,000 square foot facility that will serve the emergency medical response needs of North Port, Florida.

The two-story facility is located off Toledo Blade Boulevard north of the Bobcat Village housing community in the North Port Medical Plaza. The freestanding Emergency Room will include a 24-hour observation unit, outpatient services, laboratories, radiology and rehabilitation services, including home health. Space on the second floor has been reserved for physician offices.

The specialized trauma center will provide northern Charlotte County and southern Sarasota County residents with prompt trauma care. Currently, the closest facilities are in Tampa and Fort Myers, Florida. Currently, patients must be flown in a helicopter to these locations to receive necessary trauma treatment. With the budget issues facing Lee Memorial Health System in recent years leading to constant threats of closing their trauma center, North Port Emergency Care Center creates security and reassurance for residents in North Port and the surrounding communities.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, North Port's population was documented as 35,272 in 2004. City Officials have estimated that this population has doubled by 2009 and continued growth is projected for the future. With the City of North Port celebrating a mere 50-year anniversary in 2009, both government officials and residents agree that an emergency medical and outpatient services center could not have waited any longer. This young city needed the service now to provide for its rapidly growing community.

Currently, North Port citizens must be transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital within the city limits of Sarasota, Florida, or to one of the Port Charlotte, Florida hospitals, Fawcett Memorial Hospital or Peace River Medical Center. All three of these emergency medical center locations are over a twenty-minute emergency vehicle drive away from the center of North Port. North Port Emergency Care Center is a mere seven-minute drive from the center of North Port in a non-emergency vehicle. This has been good news for North Port Fire Rescue, whose Public Protection Classification Rating was 2/8B in 2006. Already in the top 1% Class for the Nation, North Port Fire Rescue can now experience greater rescue success by delivering patients to a fully integrated and technologically advanced emergency care facility in less than half the time.

The North Port Emergency Care Center is due to be completed, opened and dedicated in Summer 2009.

Sources:
SMH.com: North Port Emergency Center;
U.S. Census Bureau;
CityofNorthPort.com: North Port Fire Rescue;
City of North Port: Community Outreach Division.