A new era for health care has begun in west Orange County with the opening of the new Florida Hospital Apopka.

The 450,000-square-foot-hospital began operating at 7 a.m. on Wednesday with the transfer of 23 patients by ambulance from the "old" Florida Hospital Apopka. That 50-year-old facility, at 201 N. Park Ave., is now closed.

"The transition couldn't have gone any better," said Tim Cook, administrator of Florida Hospital Apopka. "It took a lot of planning, and our team did a fantastic job of wrapping up operations and the old hospital and welcoming our patients to our new location, where we will continue our legacy of care while expanding our services for the community."

The new hospital includes 120 private inpatient rooms, expanded surgical services, advanced surgical suites and a catheterization lab. The seven-story building will also feature a 30,000-square-foot emergency department with pediatric-friendly beds, imaging services, a full-service cafeteria, chapel and gift shop.

The transfer process took approximately three hours, using about a dozen ambulances from Florida Hospital and the city of Apopka. By the end of that process, the new hospital had already reached a few milestones: It received its first walk-in patients (including its first pediatric patient); the first patient to be transferred from another hospital (Florida Hospital Winter Garden) arrived; and the first procedure (a bronchoscopy) was performed.