Florida Medical Clinic is continuing to expand at a brisk pace, with an 85,000-square-foot facility expected to open near Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel in March 2016, and a 15,000-square-foot expansion at its facility on State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes now under way.
The new projects are part of a story that dates back to 1993, when four practices in Zephyrhills decided to merge to gain advantages they could not secure independently, said Chris Alvarez, the health care provider’s chief financial officer.
(Courtesy of Florida Medical Clinic)
Since then, Florida Medical Clinic has grown to have 43 locations totaling 550,000 square feet, with 750,000 patient encounters each year. It has 235 providers, representing 33 medical specialties, Alvarez said.
It also has ambitious plans.,
The five-year vision is to have 70 locations, with 1.3 million patient visits a year, Alvarez told those gathered at an economic development briefing organized by the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. Alvarez spoke at a luncheon meeting at Hoosiers Grille at the Heritage Isles Golf and Country Club on April 23.
Florida Medical Clinic will be building the new 85,000-square-foot structure in Wesley Chapel at 2352 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., north of State Road 56.
“Obviously, the location is perfect for us. It’s very close to the hospital,” Alvarez said. “It’s a great location from a visibility standpoint.”
There will be 60 physicians and 200 employees in that building, Alvarez said.
“Everything we’re going to do at Wiregrass is going to be practices that already exist in the Wiregrass area or new providers that we’re going to bring in, or have already brought in, in anticipation of that opening,” Alvarez said.
The new facility will provide a convenient one-stop shop for patients, as patients will be able to see their doctor and pick up prescriptions at the same location, he added.
In Land O’ Lakes, Florida Medical Clinic is building a 15,000-square-foot addition, at a location it opened in 2009.
There’s room for another building there, which the clinic may construct sometime relatively soon, Alvarez said. When that occurs, Florida Medical Clinic’s total presence at that site will be 75,000 square feet.
Just two years ago, Florida Medical Clinic expanded its main campus in Zephyrhills at Market Square to open a new urgent care facility. It also built a 12,000-square-foot office on Eiland Boulevard that it shares with DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc.
Deciding when and where to build and consolidate is an organic process for Florida Medical Clinic, usually based on the number of doctors and specialists the company has partnered with, and where they are located, according to Alvarez.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to grow,” Alvarez added.
“We don’t really grow through acquisition,” Alvarez said. Instead, it grows as medical practices approach them with an interest to join.
“We just kind of merge their practice in. If you bring a practice, you become a shareholder.
“In a perfect world, we build one large building, based on primary care. We have some some specialists that are based and fixed at that building, others that rotate through a couple of days, as necessary, to provide support. And then we have the ancillary services, diagnostic imaging, potentially pharmacy, things of that nature.”
Florida Medical Clinic’s model for growth seems to be effective, Alvarez said.
“It’s been, obviously, quite successful,” he said.
Published April 29, 2015