untitledBy  Tamas Mondovics

South Bay Hospital executives and staff, joined by local community and government officials hosted a groundbreaking ceremony last month to mark the start of $30 million expansion and renovation project.

Befitting the event, attendees included South Bay Hospital CEO Sharon Roush, along with HCA West Florida President Peter Marmerstein, South Bay Hospital Chief of Staff Robert Betzu, MD. and Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham, District 7.

According to hospital officials, the current 112-bed, acute care facility, which is serving Sun City Center, Ruskin, Wimauma, Riverview, Apollo Beach, Gibsonton and the surrounding areas, will greatly benefit from the much-anticipated addition of a 30,900 sq. ft. new patient tower along with the refurbishing of public areas and existing patient care units.

“This latest expansion complements the new cardiovascular and CT services added last year and supports our ongoing efforts to be a leader in cutting edge, caring and collaborative healthcare,” said South Bay Hospital CEO Sharon Roush.

The new patient tower will feature all private rooms and include a 14-bed progressive care service and 12 additional intensive care beds on the second floor. It will increase the hospital’s bed total to 138 and has been designed to accommodate future expansion of two floors for an additional 48 beds.

The renovation and refurbishing components include a new hospital entrance, enhanced main lobby and gift shop, dining expansion, new education classrooms and a chapel. Patient care units will be renovated to reflect the new tower design elements.

South Bay is Joint Commission Accredited, a Joint Commission Top Performer in Key Quality Measures for four consecutive years, certified in total hip and total knee replacement by the Joint Commission, accredited by the Joint Commission for Heart Failure, a Joint Commission Certified Primary Stroke Center, and accredited in ultrasound by the American College of Radiology.

For more information about South Bay Hospital, call 634-0172 or visit www.SouthBayHospital.com.

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