Merritt Island Wellness Village to Be a Huge Driver for Redevelopment
April 22, 2022 – Health First is moving ahead with the development of a new hospital and wellness village in Merritt Island. The 14-acre village will provide modern acute care treatment, complemented by retail and wellness-focused services. The new facility will be designed to pivot the focus of health care by Health First from “sick care” to an era of wellness and includes the relocation of Cape Canaveral Hospital from its current site off State Road 520 in Cocoa Beach to a new site off State Road 520, across the road from Merritt Square mall.
The project is slated to break ground in 2023 with a projected opening of the facility by 2025. Although Health First is not estimating the number of personnel at the Health Village, the current Cape Canaveral Hospital has more than 600 associates, including more than 200 full-time physicians. Since the planned Wellness Village will expand the services offered, it can be assumed that the number of employees will increase.
The Wellness Village will have these features:
- New hospital with 120 beds, 30 emergency department bays and 6 operating suites
- A medical office building accommodating primary-care and specialty-care services.
- Advanced imaging and diagnostic services.
- Retail space accommodating wellness-focused services, fitness centers and healthy dining options.
- Child care facility.
- Walking trails and bike paths.
- An “experience center” that will house community meeting/event space, classrooms, virtual visit offices and administrative offices, as well as retail space. They will feature flexible classrooms and auditorium space, with indoor-outdoor capabilities that enable educational programs, community events, retail and wellness offerings.
- Parking
“Wellness Villages will be destination centers for consumers that embody the transition from an era almost exclusively focused on sick care to an era of wellness,” according to Health First President and CEO Steve Johnson. “At the core of this transition are Health First’s wellness services, representing the combination of traditional sick care and progressive preventive care, as well as related lifestyle-supporting services — healing well and living well. They are both designed with the consumer in mind, providing our community what they want, when they want it — with an added bonus of being in one central location.”
“We are deeply appreciative that Merritt Island was chosen for the Health First Medical Wellness Village,” said Larry Lallo, Executive Director, Merritt island Redevelopment Agency. “This will be the largest capital project in the history of Central Merritt Island. The project will not only create a state-of-the-art health and wellness destination in Brevard County, but is also is ushering in a new era of high-quality architectural design, top of the line personal care, and lifestyle experiences that will improve the quality of life for Merritt Island’s and Brevard County residents, and visitors.”
Sources: Florida Today
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