Innovative Rehabilitation Center to Provide Multiple Levels of Post-Acute Care

Orlando Health held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the upcoming grand opening of its newest facility, the Orlando Health Center for Rehabilitation. Located on the Orlando Health - Health Central Hospital campus and funded in part by the West Orange Healthcare District (the District), the 91,000 sq. ft., and 110-bed skilled nursing facility will provide multiple levels of post-acute care.

"Our new center will provide our patients with the highly specialized levels of rehabilitative and post-acute care they require in an environment that feels more like a hotel than a hospital," said Mark Marsh, President of Orlando Health - Health Central Hospital. "We were thrilled to work again with the West Orange District in order to bring this new facility here to our Health Central campus."

Delivering various levels of post-acute care under one roof, coupled with the facility's unique design concept make it the first of its kind in Central Florida. 60 beds will be available to treat patients in need of short-term skilled nursing care, 40 beds will be located in a specially designed memory care wing serving Alzheimer's/dementia patients and another 10 beds make up a dedicated hospice in-patient unit managed by Cornerstone Hospice.

"We are very excited to participate in making this new healthcare concept a reality," said Mark Griffith, chair of the West Orange Healthcare District, which funded $24.5 million toward the facility's $37 million cost. "Projects such as this are the District's top priority, as they enhance our community's access to healthcare and immediately impact the lives of the residents of West Orange County."

Construction began late in 2017, taking about 18 months to complete. The $37 million project will generate approximately 400 construction jobs. Once fully operational, the new facility will staff 150 full-time employees. Architect for the project is KTH Architects and Gilbane Building Company is the construction manager.

The West Orange Healthcare District (WOHD) is an independent special healthcare district whose mission is to enhance health and wellness in west Orange County. In just the past five years, the District has awarded nearly $125 million to local not-for-profits that provide healthcare services to area residents. The District was created by an Act of the 1949 Florida Legislature and is governed by a 16-member Board appointed by the Governor of Florida. Although originally designed as a taxing organization, the District no longer collects tax from the community; the last tax collected was in 2000. More information at wohd1949.org

The District is a founding champion of "Healthy West Orange," a grassroots movement to inspire west Orange County to become the healthiest community in the nation. More information at healthywestorange.org.