VIERA, Fla – Health First gave an inside look at its plans to double the size of Viera Hospital on Wednesday.
Before renderings of a second five-story tower on the campus become reality, the hospital chain took Brevard County Community Correspondent James Sparvero to the fifth floor of the tower at the hospital now.
Under another part of its expansion plan, in the next 18 months, the rooms in the current tower will be ready for new patients.
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Health First said not only are the expansion plans huge because of how much Viera and central Brevard County have grown in the last 15 years, but also because of the closure of the Orlando Health hospital in Rockledge. The hospital closed back in April after more than 80 years due to safety concerns and structural damages.
[VIDEO: Rockledge Hospital closing after 84 years]
As a consequence of closing, Health First expected longer wait times at the county’s other hospitals.
Spokesman Lance Skelly gave credit to Health First employees for working through the transition.
“It’s been challenging, but I’ll tell you what, all thanks to our physicians, our nursing staff, the staff at the hospital, and not just here at Viera, but all of our hospitals, all of our clinics,” Skelly said. “They’ve done an amazing job of meeting the needs.”
Under construction right now, Health First has resumed building its new hospital in Merritt Island.
The construction was paused in June after two workers died when a crane collapsed during what Health First called a weather-related accident.
While Health First still expects to complete the Merritt Island hospital in the next two years, there’s no timeframe when it will be building the second tower at its Viera campus.