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ORLANDO HEALTH: EXPANDING PARTNERSHIPS AND COMMUNITY IMPACT
BUILDERS’ BREAKFAST | FEBRUARY 27, 2024
Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health is committed to growing alongside their community and serving the community the “Orlando Health Way.” With physicians in over 100 specialties, over 25,000 team members, and covering 14 counties coast to coast in Florida, Orlando Health provided more than $1.3 billion in total community impact in the form of charity care, community benefit programs, services, and community building activities last year.
John Walsh, vice president of facilities development, and Kim McMurphy, director of facilities development, spoke to ABC members at a Builders’ Breakfast that was at max capacity with attendees looking to hear how they can get involved with upcoming Orlando Health projects.
Orlando Health is committed to diverse and minority inclusion to represent the diverse community they serve. A Supplier Diversity Program roadmap on how to connect with Orlando Health was shown to attendees with how to register as a vendor and go through the review process (Visit www. orlandohealth.com/forvendors). It’s not just suppliers the health group is looking for though, they are eager to bring on new trade partners in almost every area. They need partners from the ground up, new construction on planned projects is going to start as greenfield spaces, starting with land developers, surveyors, and environmental studies.
Walsh told members, “We want to work with good people that will work through problems with us. We are focused on project managers, superintendents, and team experience. Prior project experience is important to us.” But Walsh and McMurphy expanded on that, explaining that it isn’t just experience in the health care sector that is important to them, commercial and retail experience is included in that, and members should not hesitate to reach out to them if they do not usually work exclusively with healthcare.
Orlando Health has allocated $7 billion for a seven-year capital improvement plan, which has already been fully funded. Walsh commented that “We can’t spend money fast enough.” A list of upcoming projects was displayed, including a new 102-132 bed hospital in Osceola County where there is currently a freestanding emergency department, and the Wiregrass hospital plans that an RFP will have gone out for by the time this article is published. They also reviewed some current construction on a new hospital in Lake Mary to open later this year as well as the Bayfront hospital in Tampa.
Downtown Orlando will always be the central hub of Orlando Health, the roots they started from. There is no space to add anything else to that hub though, and with their plans to double their reach by 2030 – two-thirds of that expansion will be within the 14 counties they already service and the remaining third will be starting to stretch out even further. Florida is going to continue to grow and Orlando Health right alongside it.
Walsh and McMurphy thanked ABC members for everything the construction industry does to expand and provide healthcare to the community, acknowledging the need for this strong partnership to continue their success.
As presented at the ABC Central Florida Builders' Breakfast on February 27, 2024. For more information in our Builders' Breakfast/ Luncheon events, contact us at meetings@abccf.org.
