Catholic Health World

Sacred Heart Health System to open hospital in Port St. Joe, Fla.

As Catholic Health World went to press, Sacred Heart Health System of Pensacola, Fla., was poised to open a $38 million, 25-bed hospital in Port St. Joe, Fla., on March 15.

The facility, which is called Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf, will offer a 24-hour emergency department and surgical, diagnostic and laboratory services. A medical office building will open later this year.

Sacred Heart built the facility in response to a call by this rural, medically underserved community for a hospital, said Mike Burke, director of marketing and public relations for the system. "The hospital project was part of our mission to expand access to care in Northwest Florida."

This part of the state is expected to experience population growth — especially among seniors — once Florida's economy rebounds, Burke said, and local people and organizations supported the construction of Sacred Heart Hospital to pave the way for the influx.

A real estate developer, the St. Joe Company, donated the land for the campus and committed to give $5 million over the next decade. "The company recognized that in order to attract retirees to the area, the retirees would need to have access to quality health care," Burke said

Local taxpayers also provided support, agreeing to a half-cent sales tax that will help to fund indigent care.

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