Johns Hopkins All Children's is expanding beyond St. Petersburg.
It is building an advanced pediatric hospital in Wesley Chapel. The opening is scheduled for 2027, according to a news release.
All Children’s bought over 100 acres of land near Interstate 75 and Overpass Road in Pasco County. The hospital will have 56 beds, a 16-room emergency center and four operating rooms.
All Children's chief operating officer Justin Olsen said the new hospital will address a dire need in the area.
“Right now, families in Pasco County, Citrus and Hernando, 93% of them travel outside of that market for some specialty pediatric care,” Olsen said, adding that Pasco's children's population is expected to grow 12% by 2032.
He mentioned that the flagship St. Petersburg location often admits patients with complex injuries who require extensive follow-up and acute rehabilitation therapy.
“We actually have trouble placing them throughout the state because beds are full,” Olsen said. “So we wanted to create a really special place where they could do both in-patient and outpatient in one location."
The Wesley Chapel locationl will have an in-patient rehab unit, a first for All Children’s.
All Children's is not new to Wesley Chapel. Last month, physicians began offering “specialized outpatient services in cardiology, endocrinology and general surgery in leased space” in the area, according to the news release.
“We’re already becoming members of that community, and so we expect that to also build robust demand,” Olsen said.
The St. Petersburg campus, located downtown on Sixth Avenue South, is also growing. Construction on a 28,000-square-foot expansion is scheduled to start in the spring, adding more exam rooms in the emergency center, expanded operating rooms on the second floor and more.
That project should be complete by 2026.
The nonprofit academic hospital will be reinvesting its own funds and using community donations to finance the expansion projects.
