South Bay Hospital opens new patient tower
By PHYLLIS HODGES
Sun City Center’s own Sun Radio was on the scene broadcasting live at South Bay Hospital’s public “sneak peek” of the new patient tower expansion on Dec. 5. Here Peg Goodenow interviews Chief Executive Officer Sharon Roush.
With the 30,900 square-foot new patient tower completed, South Bay Hospital management was delighted to show it off. There were three special events during the week of Nov. 28. Employees and first responders got the first look. That was followed by a ribbon-cutting attended by corporate and community VIPs. Then the public was invited in for a sneak peek on Dec. 2.
The atmosphere was cheery, with hundreds of area residents turning out to see the result of a construction project they had watched for months. Guests entered through a new hospital entrance, where Q105 radio was on hand distributing crowd-pleasing ice cream sandwiches.
Guests mingled in the enhanced main lobby, speaking with hospital management and staffers, and then made their way through the tower patient care rooms, updated and enhanced gift shop, chapel and Café at the Bay with outdoor seating. After their tour, they were invited to the courtyard for cake commemorating the occasion. Also included in the project was a more convenient parking lot with covered golf-cart parking.
Dec. 5 was a big day for South Bay Hospital when Transporter Tristan Tappin and RN Erin McConnell moved the first patient, Elsie Cuevas-Cousar, into the new ICU/PCU patient tower.
Guests enjoyed cake and punch in the courtyard following their tour of the hospital’s patient tower expansion.
Ice cream sandwiches offered by the Q105 food truck were a crowd favorite.
Chief Executive Officer Sharon Roush said it was “a long time coming,” and that she was “pleased to see it finished.” The expansion complements the many services South Bay Hospital offers in orthopedics, cardiology, emergency services, general surgery and supports our ongoing efforts to be a leader in cutting edge, caring and collaborative healthcare,” she added.
The newly completed project began in June 2015. The tower features all private rooms and includes a 14-bed Progressive Care service and 12 additional intensive-care beds on the second floor to service the most critical patients. The expansion increases the hospital’s bed total to 138 and has been designed to accommodate future expansion of two floors for an additional 48 beds.
South Bay began moving patients to the new tower Dec. 5, vacating rooms for the 2017 phase which includes renovation of those rooms to reflect the new tower design elements.
The hospital, an HCA West Florida facility, at 4016 Sun City Center Blvd., offers a wide range of services including general and vascular surgery, urology, cardiology, orthopedic and spine surgery. It serves Sun City Center, Ruskin, Wimauma, Riverview, Apollo Beach, Gibsonton and the surrounding areas. Visit SouthBayHospital.com, or call 813-634-0172 for more information.
