Wesley Chapel’s John Negley will not have to travel far for his new task
By Kyle LoJacono
Building hospitals has become second nature to John Negley.
The Wesley Chapel resident is in charge of building the Wesley Chapel Medical Center, which will break ground later this year. It is the fourth hospital he has helped put up. Two others were in Maryland and the most recent is Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center in Sebring.
“I’m really pleased to be building the first hospital in Wesley Chapel,” Negley said. “It’ll certainly bring quality healthcare closer to home. Part of my job has been getting involved in the community to learn about what the people want from their hospital, which is why I’m in the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel as their president and also on the board for the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.”
The hospital is being built by the Adventist Health System (AHS), which recently merged with University Community Health (UCH). Negley’s current position with AHS is assistant vice president at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills. He has been a part of AHS since 1992.
“I started building a lot of commercial facilities in West Virginia before moving toward healthcare construction,” Negley said. “I came to Wesley Chapel in 2008 after the Sebring hospital was finished.”
The Wesley Chapel hospital will break ground later this year and will take about 18 months to build. Robins & Morton will be completing the job. The company has finished more than 900 projects in 28 states, including the AHS-owned Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
When it does open, the facility will bring 450 jobs to the area according to hospital spokeswoman Lyn Acer.
“It’s also the construction workers who will be eating in the area restaurants, buying gas and shopping here during the project,” Negley said. “It will be a big boost to the local economy, job market and to the availability of healthcare.”
Negley, 62, said most of his daily duties now include finishing the permitting process for the new hospital. After that is finished, he will turn his attention to building the facility. It’s a heavy process — the blueprints actually weigh 250 pounds.
When completed, the facility will cover 200,000 square feet on 52 acres of land. Some 400,000 cubic yards of dirt will be moved. It will open as an 80-bed facility, but is built to easily expand to about twice that once the demand is established from the community.
A removable roof will be installed to more quickly expand from three to six stories. The hospital’s features will include obstetrics, pediatrics, women’s and men’s services, general surgery, an emergency department, a comprehensive medical fitness program, orthopedics and sports medicine.
While Negley has become experienced at building hospitals, he has several other interests including rebuilding classic cars. His favorite is his 1936 two-door Dodge humpback, which won first place at a past car show at The Shops at Wiregrass.
Negley also enjoys climbing mountains. He and his son, John Jr., recently climbed Mount Whitney in California. He will soon take a trip to Japan where he will climb Mount Fuji.
Negley married his high school sweetheart, Eileen. The couple has been married for 42 years and has one child and four grand children.
Facts about the hospital
Location: one half-mile north of SR 56 on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard
Proposed cost: $121 million
Will include 18,000 cubic yards of concrete, enough for 75 miles of sidewalk
Will have four miles of underground utility lines
Will also include 37 miles of piping and 161 tons of sheet metal ductwork
