Although the title may change hands at some point in the future, Wesley Chapel’s first hospital is still its largest and an exclamation point has been added to that sentence following the Nov. 20 ribbon-cutting ceremony and Grand Opening of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (AHWC) hospital’s “North Tower” upward expansion.
More than 200 hospital staffers, hospital and hospital Foundation Board members, as well as North Tampa Bay Chamber Board members were on hand when AHWC president and CEO Ryan Quattlebaum (left) and chief medical officer Robert Rosequist (with scissors in top photo) cut the ribbon on the 80,373-sq.-ft. expansion. The project adds three additional floors (only the top one of which is open) and 24 more licensed beds, with room for two 24-bed units in the future, as well as 21 additional pre-op and post-op beds, two additional operating rooms, two additional endoscopy suites and one hybrid operating room.
The expansion also gives the award-winning hospital — which has been named one of the top hospitals in the U.S. by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report magazines, as well as earning an “America’s 250 Best Hospitals” grade by Healthgrades and a 21st consecutive semester Hospital Safety Grade of “A” from Leapfrog — expanded sterile processing and imaging capabilities, including MRI and radiology.
All told, AHWC now has 193 private patient beds, 34 ER beds, 12 operating rooms, three endoscopy suites, two heart catheterization labs, one C-section suite, and too much other robotic surgery and other advanced technology to mention here.
Following an opening prayer, Quattlebaum said, “This expansion project is truly monumental for AdventHealth Wesley Chapel. I am so excited to celebrate with everyone here today because this is truly a celebration for our community.”
Quattlebaum then thanked all of the elected officials in attendance, including District 1 Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley, District 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman (right) and District 5 Commissioner Jack Mariano. He also acknowledged and thanked all of the hospital Board members, medical executive committee members, AdventHealth West Florida Division leaders and fellow Pasco County AdventHealth leaders, as well as all of the companies that participated in building the hospital expansion project.
“The journey at AdventHealth Wesley Chapel is one that reads like a fairy tale storybook, as it relates to health, faith and community,” Quattlebaum said. So, I’ll go back to the beginning — to 2012, when this campus opened (as Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel) with 80 beds and a community that welcomed us with open arms. And, as the community has grown, we have grown with it. And, what that growth really signifies is that we have [greater] access to care.”
He added that when he first heard about AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, “I was in California and I heard about this amazing place where they have these great, quality stores and the team is so engaged. It really speaks to the heart of what makes Wesley Chapel special — our people. A building is a place where people receive care, but it’s delivered by people and the people who work here are truly what makes us unique and special.”
Quattlebaum concluded by saying that when they had orientation for the new expansion, he asked his team members where they came from, where home was for them. “One of them said, ‘I live in Zephyrhills but I remember this spot, this part of Wesley Chapel, as a place where we used to come to watch meteor showers.’ And I thought that meteor showers are moments that reminds us how brilliance is possible. It’s fitting that our hospital stands here today because it symbolizes what brilliance can look like. Our mission calls us to continue to be brilliant for our community every single day and to extend Christ’s healing ministry through healing, comfort and hope. While meteor showers come and go, the light and brilliance that extends at this place endures.”
Next up was Commissioner Weightman, who said, “AdventHealth entered Pasco County in 1985 and the reason for that was that Commissioner Oakley’s dad donated the land that AdventHealth Zephyrhills sits on today. And it’s an honor to sit with him today, as Commissioner Oakley has carried on that legacy by being part of that foundation. And, here we are today in Wesley Chapel, on a road that used to be called the ‘road to nowhere.’ But now, that roads leads somewhere, to the North Tower of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel. How spectacular is that?”
Also speaking at the event were AHWC chief of staff Dr. Kalpesh Patel and Dr. Rosequist, but before the ribbon-cutting and tours of the new wing, Quattlebaum also thanked the AHWC marketing team for putting the event together.
For more info about AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (2600 BBD Blvd.), visit AdventHealth.com or call (813) 929-5000. — GN, all photos except the rendering above by Charmaine George
