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Brevard County’s growing population has triggered a billion-dollar race to build new medical facilities, following Orlando Health’s recent closure of Rockledge Hospital.

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Orlando Health shut down the 298-bed Rockledge facility in April, citing the hospital’s deteriorating condition when it was acquired from Steward Health Care. But rather than abandon the Space Coast, Orlando Health has committed to an aggressive $750 million expansion plan throughout the county. That plan includes a new $600 million hospital at a location still to be announced, along with up to four new freestanding emergency rooms, each projected to cost around $30 million. According to insiders, Orlando Health is also eyeing a 40-acre parcel in Viera’s near Ford’s Garage that could house a new ortho clinic among other services.

Health First, Brevard’s other major hospital system, isn’t sitting idle. Already underway is Health First’s new $230 million expansion at Palm Bay Hospital, along with a brand-new $300 million hospital campus on Merritt Island to replace its aging facility in Cocoa Beach. In addition, Health First is fast-tracking the construction of two freestanding ERs—one in Rockledge and another serving southern Brevard—at a combined cost of $40 million.

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Behind the flurry of construction is Brevard’s surging population, which grew from 543,376 residents in 2010 to over 606,000 as of 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Independent health care analyst Allan Baumgarten noted that such growth often drives strategic decisions by hospital systems about where to invest. “One hospital system’s losing proposition may be an opportunity for a competing system,” Baumgarten told the Orlando Business Journal.

For Orlando Health, that meant walking away from the aging Rockledge hospital and instead investing in new infrastructure elsewhere in the county. The company has also pledged $10 million in transitional assistance to local health organizations to help offset the loss of Rockledge’s emergency room.

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That funding has already helped organizations like Brevard Health Alliance, which has experienced a rise in patient visits since the Rockledge ER closed. “As much as that was jarring to our world by having that hospital close, our partners have come together and put solutions in place,” said Johnette Gindling, president and CEO of the Space Coast Health Foundation.

While long-term solutions are coming, local healthcare providers are still facing some growing pains, including longer waits at urgent care centers and ERs. In the meantime, the community is also focusing on public education efforts to help residents better understand when to seek emergency care versus routine urgent care, along with promoting healthier lifestyles to reduce unnecessary hospital visits.

Health First expects to open its Merritt Island hospital by early 2027, while the first phase of its Palm Bay expansion should be operational by 2028. That project includes built-in “shell space” to allow further expansion as patient demand continues to grow.

Orlando Health has not yet released a specific construction timeline for its projects but has indicated that it will return the Rockledge hospital property to the city government.

With over a billion dollars in combined projects, Brevard County’s healthcare landscape is being reshaped rapidly — a direct reflection of the county’s ongoing growth and the escalating demand for modernized medical care.

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