AdventHealth Wesley Chapel Cuts A Ribbon On Its New Expansion

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 

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel Breaks Ground On Expansion Of Main Hospital 

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel president Erik Wangsness at the groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital’s expansion. (Photos by Charmaine George)

When AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (AHWC) opened as the first hospital located in Wesley Chapel almost a dozen years ago (when it was called Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel) with just 83 total beds, the community was told that the plan was to eventually expand the number of beds to 300. 

Since then, AHWC has done a lot more than just go through a name change to AHWC in 2019. First of all, two medical office buildings have opened (the AHWC Wellness Plaza in 2013 and the Outpatient Cancer & Research Center, in partnership with the Moffitt Cancer Center, in 2021). 

In addition, the hospital more than doubled its original 83 beds to 169 in 2016, which also included increasing from four operating rooms to 12 and from 20 emergency room (ER) beds to 35. 

But, along with the recent establishment of the new family care residency program and the freestanding emergency room in Meadow Pointe (as we reported last issue), AHWC held a groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital’s upward expansion on Aug. 15. Although Jannah and I were not personally able to attend that event, photographer Charmaine George did attend and made sure she recorded all of the proceedings for me, so I could write this story. 

On hand for the event were District 54 State Rep. Randy Maggard, Pasco Commissioners Jack Mariano (Dist. 5), Seth Weightman (Dist. 2) and Board Chair Ron Oakley (Dist. 1), and Pasco Fire Chief Tony Perez, as well as members of both the hospital’s Governing Board and its Foundation’s Board and the AdventHealth Division office. AHWC president Erik Wangsness also introduced Bill Porter of the Porter Family Trust and Scott Sheridan of Locust Branch, LLC, the developer of Wiregrass Ranch, “since we are located on the Porter family’s land,” Wangsness said. 

Wangsness also thanked those involved in the design and construction of the hospital expansion, including the AdventHealth Office of Design & Construction, architects HuntonBrady, design engineers Smith Seckman Reed, Atwell civil engineers and general contractor Batson Cook. 

“This hospital is not yet 12 years old,” Wangsness said. “It opened in 2012 with 83 beds but was designed to grow with the community. We’re at 169 now but this expansion will allow us to add 72 inpatient beds, which is important for us — even though there are other facilities opening around us — since this community continues to grow in a meaningful way.” 

Several different groups took part in the groundbreaking. This photo includes State Rep. Randy Maggard (far right) and three Pasco County commissioners, as well as the hospital’s management team. 

“Case in point,” he added, “We have around 20 patients waiting at our Emergency Department this morning for admission. We need the [additional] capacity to continue to serve this growing community. And, the development isn’t going to stop, so it’s time for us to continue to grow.” 

In addition to the inpatient beds, Wangsness said the expansion will add a couple of additional operating rooms, endoscopy suites, pre- and post-op beds, additional imaging, a PET-CT (positron emission tomography-computed tomography) suite and a hybrid lab (a traditional lab that also can double as a surgical operating room), “that will help us grow in the severity of the patients we can serve. I want to thank all of you for joining us on this warm, muggy morning.” Wangsness also said the expansion should be completed by the end of 2025. 

Also on hand were Bill Porter (left) of the Porter family & Scott Sheridan of the Wiregrass Ranch development team. 

Wangsness then introduced Rep. Maggard, who said, “We all know how important it is for Advent to be doing this for our community. I can truly say that when I go to Tallahassee, people know [there is] no district like we have, District 54, with the community partners we have here. It is special and I feel very honored to be able to help in any way I can to help this area grow.” 

Rep. Maggard also mentioned Pasco Hernando State College and its nearby Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, which recently expanded its nursing program (as we reported last issue). “We can see a future that’s bright for our area.” 

He also mentioned that the need for health care facilities will continue to grow. “We expect a 20% population growth for Pasco County by 2045,” he said. “If you think the traffic’s bad now, just wait.” 

Comm. Oakley also said he was honored to be on the Foundation Board for AdventHealth, and to be on-hand for yet another major event for the hospital, “which is such a great community partner.” He also said that AHWC’s competition, with one additional hospital built and 1-2 others being built, means all of the hospitals “will be competing to be number 1. The benefactors of that competition are the people of Pasco County.” 

Wangsness said that because Comm. Oakley mentioned AHWC’s competition, “I just want to say that we’ve been recognized by Newsweek magazine three years in a row as one of the ‘World’s Best Hospitals.’” 

Comm. Weightman, whose Dist. 2 includes the hospital, then also thanked the Porter family for its vision for Wiregrass Ranch. 

Norm Stein

“It wasn’t long ago that this was all wide open… with cows roaming around…and Bruce B. Downs was a road to nowhere. But, we’ve grown in incredible leaps and bounds over the past decade. The vision of Wiregrass Ranch and AdventHealth…it’s just such a fantastic place to be for our community. The investment that Advent continues to make…and the jobs… it’s just phenomenal.” 

Speaking of vision, the final speaker before the groundbreaking was former University Community Hospital president and long-time AHWC Board member Norm Stein, whom Wangsness credited with having the vision for the need to build a hospital in Wesley Chapel. 

“It was Dec. 14, 2010, when we had another groundbreaking,” Stein said. “The late Don Porter had walked into my hospital and told me of his idea to build a hospital in this part of Pasco and to have a college that could provide nursing students for that hospital. And, he wanted to see both of those institutions come together on his property. And you know what? It wasn’t easy, but it happened.”

NTBC’s Award Winners Include AHWC, Avalon Park WC & Parks Ford 

Congratulations go out to all of this year’s “Excellence in Business” award winners and finalists from Wesley Chapel. The annual honors were presented by the North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) at its awards gala held at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant in The Grove on Nov. 17. 

Among this year’s award winners were Jennie Yingling of both Spinner Law and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, who was honored with the “Community Hero” award; Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, which took home the “Excellence in Innovation” award; and to Parks Ford and AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, which (no pun intended) shared the “Innovation in Collaboration” honors (the first-ever tie for an NTBC award, according to Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy). Other winners included Pepin Academy (“Inclusivity”) and SOF Missions (“Integrity”). 

Jennie Yingling (“Community Hero”)
Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (“Excellence in Innovation”)
Parks Ford (“Innovation in Collaboration”)
AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (“Innovation in Collaboration”)
Pepin Academy (“Inclusivity”)
SOF Missions (“Integrity”)

Some Good News At AdventHealth Wesley Chapel!

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (AHWC) celebrated a heart-touching victory on April 9 as COVID-19 patient Tamashri Maharana was released after battling the virus for a week.

Maharana spent seven days at AHWC, the last four of those in the ICU battling the virus.

Team members lined the halls and clapped as she made her way home.

Maharana is now in quarantine at home continuing her recovery.

The latest COVID-19 numbers show 17,531 confirmed cases in Florida, with 390 deaths. In Hillsborough County, there are 671 cases and nine deaths. In Pasco County, there are 141 cases and two deaths.

Here’s the video of Maharana leaving AHWC, courtesy of the hospital.