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BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel

New BayCare hospital to add 250 jobs

April 5, 2022 By B.C. Manion

Hundreds of construction workers are busy building BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, at 4501 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

The new 86-bed hospital is expected to open in Spring 2023, and when it does, it will create additional medical options within Pasco County, as well as more jobs.

Becky Schulkowski, the hospital’s president, is pleased with the $246 million project’s progress to date.

“We are on budget. We are on schedule,” Schulkowski said, during a recent hard-hat tour of the construction site, on the 40-plus acre campus.

The hospital is fortunate because it hasn’t been besieged by construction cost escalations and supply chain issues, the hospital leader said.

Becky Schulkowski, the president of BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, is pleased with the progress of the $246 million project. She can’t wait to begin to bring BayCare’s health care services to the Wesley Chapel area. (B.C. Manion)

“We were just basically on the crest of that wave,” she said.

“All of our pricing was honored. I have one item that we have identified as a delay in shipment,” she said, but noted that that will arrive well before the hospital opens.

“We did have a shipment of tile that got stuck on a ship at the Port of Miami for a couple of months,” she said, but that has arrived.

When BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel opens, it will offer comprehensive medical services and health care resources including an emergency department, an intensive care unit with virtual-monitoring beds, diagnostic services such as imaging and lab, and physical rehabilitation.

Right now, there are about 300 construction workers plying their skills at the site. The hospital is expected to begin operations with about 250 employees, and to increase up to 275 by the second year..

BayCare chose to open a hospital in Wesley Chapel because it’s an obviously growing area — and where there are people, there are healthcare needs, Schulkowski said.

“We wanted to meet that need. We’re bringing the BayCare values to the community. Every person who walks through our doors is treated with respect, dignity, trust,” the hospital president said. ““So, really, it is those values that we bring to every interaction.”

The BayCare experience won’t be a new one for many of the Wesley Chapel hospital’s patients or team members, Schulkowski said.

BayCare patients living in the Wesley Chapel area now travel to St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz, or to St. Joseph’s main campus in Tampa.

“We want to bring the care they’re already looking for, with BayCare, because they know and trust us,” she said. “We’re bringing it closer to home.”

BayCare also has team members who live in the Wesley Chapel area, but work in Lutz or Tampa.

She expects some of them to transfer to the new Wesley Chapel hospital.

“A shorter commute is a big deal and they get to stay within BayCare. So, we do expect that,” the hospital leader said.

Setting a new hospital’s tone
Finding the best people to staff the hospital will be challenging — particularly at a time when there are significant shortages in the healthcare field, Schulkowski said.

But she is optimistic that some of BayCare’s current team will want to work on her campus and that others may be attracted by the opportunity to help create the new hospital’s culture.

Team members also can provide practical suggestions of how things should be set up. Maybe they have a better idea of how a patient gets from one place to another, or where the crash cart should go, the hospital leader said.

The plans may show one thing, she explained, but there may be a better approach.

Staff will be onboarded well before the hospital’s doors open, to familiarize team members with the building and to gather their input.

“The idea is to make sure everything is smoothed out before the hospital opens,” she said.

Sparks fly, as this welder completes a task at BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, now being built on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. (Courtesy of BayCare)

She thinks the idea of having that type of involvement will appeal to potential team members.

The hospital already has asked BayCare team members to help in the hospital’s design — incorporating the knowledge they glean from their day-to-day work lives.

For instance, they provided suggestions regarding how patient rooms should be arranged.

Then, a mock patient room was set up to check everything, before the hospital proceeded with setting up other rooms.

Schulkowski is a big believer in seeking out the best ways to get things done.

“If you want to find the safest and most efficient way to do something, ask a nurse,” the hospital leader said.

The hospital chain also learned from the COVID-19 experience, she said.

“Because we were still early in our design when COVID hit, we were able to build in, what we call, pandemic mode in this building,” she said.

The new hospital has the capability of turning 42 of its rooms into negative rooms, meaning those rooms are capable of exhausting 100% of their air.

“Hopefully, we never have to use it,” Schulkowski said, but the facility will be ready, if it does.

The hospital design also features windows to allow in natural light and is planning to have art work on its walls, to create an inviting environment.

Most people don’t want to be in the hospital, Schulkowski said.

The quality of the care is paramount, but the atmosphere of the hospital is important, too, she said.

“We want it to be pleasant, welcoming,” Schulkowski said.

BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel
What:
BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel is under construction at  4501 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel
When: Opening is anticipated in the first quarter of 2023
Cost: The project’s estimated cost is $246 million.
Details: The 318,000-square-foot building is being built on a 40-plus acre campus. The hospital will have 86 private rooms and 20 Emergency Room beds. It will offer comprehensive medical services and health care resources, including an emergency department, an intensive care unit with virtual-monitoring beds, diagnostic services such as imaging and lab, and physical rehabilitation. It is expected to have 250 permanent jobs when it opens, increasing to 275 by the second year of operations.
For additional information about job opportunities, visit BayCareJobs.com or Facebook.com/BayCareCareers/.

Published April 06, 2022

Divided county board approves apartment request

April 13, 2021 By B.C. Manion

The Pasco County Commission voted 3-2 to approve a request for a conditional use to allow a maximum of 248 apartments on the west side of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, south of Eagleston Boulevard.

Commission Chairman Ron Oakley, and commissioners Kathryn Starkey and Christina Fitzpatrick supported the request; commissioners Mike Moore and Jack Mariano opposed it.

That vote followed an initial motion for denial by Moore, seconded by Mariano. But that motion failed on a 2-3 vote, with Starkey, Oakley and Fitzpatrick voting no.

Adventist Health Systems Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation is listed as the applicant, but the hospital chain intends to sell the 16.24-acre site to an apartment developer.

The land currently is zoned for commercial uses.

County regulations allow multifamily development, as a conditional use, in a commercial zoning district — but the county board must approve the conditional use permit.

Pete Pensa, a professional planner from AVID Group representing the applicant, described the proposed development during previous public hearings on the request.

The property is located at 5101 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., about one-fourth mile south of Wesley Chapel Boulevard.

The new development will feature three four-story buildings, active and passive recreation areas, preservation of open space, and a connection to an existing multi-use trail on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Pensa said.

Planned amenities include walking trails around a pond, a park, a dog park, picnic areas, a clubhouse and a pool.

The site is south of BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, which is under construction and expected to open in 2023. The hospital is expected to have over 220 jobs.

County planners and the Pasco County Commission both recommended approval of the conditional use request.

But Moore pushed for denial, during the April 7 public hearing and during a previous public hearing that had been continued.

Moore frequently has criticized what he perceives as an oversaturation of apartment development in District 2, which he represents.

He also has called attention to substantial numbers of residents in Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes — who are opposed to the ever-increasing amount of multifamily development in the area.

Moore has repeatedly implored his colleagues to deny applications that would add to that inventory — citing concerns about potential for long-term negative consequences.

If too much of this type of development is allowed, he said, there’s a prospect of older apartment developments to fall into disrepair and become a community liability — as renters are attracted to newer developments.

He said that has happened in the Brandon area of Hillsborough County, and in the Westshore area of Tampa.

Moore also argues the county should avoid rezoning land now zoned for job-generating uses, such as commercial or industrial properties.

Mariano agrees with that position. The county should retain land designated for uses that create jobs, he said.

But, Starkey said she wants to see evidence that the area is oversaturated with apartments.

County planners are expected to collect data to determine if that’s the case during a proposed 180-day moratorium.

The county board has directed its staff to prepare materials to enact that temporary moratorium, and is expected to vote on the measure on May 4.

If approved, the moratorium would be retroactive to April 1 and would apply to an area roughly defined as between State Road 52, on the north end; U.S. 41, on the west; State Road 54, on the south and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, on the east, with the boundary zig-zagging between District 1, represented by Oakley and District 2, represented by Moore.

The data collection is expected to include the amount of current multifamily development and the extent of multifamily entitlements.

The Pasco County Planning Commission, which has recommended approval of the temporary moratorium, also has called for the collection of vacancy rates, which they said is relevant on this issue.

Published April 14, 2021

Pasco commissioners clash on apartment request

January 19, 2021 By B.C. Manion

A divided Pasco County Commission has continued a request for a conditional use that would allow a maximum of 248 apartments on the west side of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, south of Eagleston Boulevard.

Adventist Health Systems Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation submitted the request, but the hospital chain intends to sell the 16.24-acre site to an apartment developer.

The land currently is zoned for commercial uses.

Development of apartments is allowed in the commercial zoning district, but the applicant first must secure a conditional use permit from the county.

Debate on the request at the county board’s Jan. 12 meeting revealed that commissioners are not on the same page, when it comes to this request.

In a departure from routine, the hearing also included a fairly detailed refresher from Nectarios Pittos, the county’s director of planning and development, relating to the board’s directive on  future apartment development along the State Road 54/State Road 56 corridor.

That directive does not apply to the property in question.

Still, Pittos went over many of the statistics relating to apartments that were included in the board’s workshop on apartments in February 2020.

The proposed apartment development would be built next the BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, which is expected to open in early 2023.

The new multifamily development features three four-story buildings, with a total of 248 units, according to Pete Pensa, a professional planner from AVID Group, representing the applicant. The site plan calls for active and passive recreation areas, the preservation of a significant amount of open space, and a connection to an existing multi-use trail on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

Pensa also noted that the current zoning would allow uses that would generate more traffic than the requested zoning would create.

Representatives from the future BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel and Blue Heron Senior Living, neighbors to the proposed apartment complex, both submitted letters of support for the project.

Attorney Barbara Wilhite, representing the apartment developer, noted that the proposed use meets the criteria in the comprehensive plan and land development code.

She also cited a recommendation of approval for the request from the Pasco County Planning Commission.

Commissioners Mike Moore and Jack Mariano, however, opposed the request.

Moore made a motion for denial, citing sections of the county’s land development code and land use plan that relate to economic development.

“The proposed conditional for multifamily will consume land and transportation capacity that the county must ensure is available for employment-generating land uses,” Moore said.

Mariano supported Moore’s motion.

The proposed development would be located directly on an arterial roadway, Mariano said, “with the connection that we have right there, it screams for something commercial — a job generator.”

Moore and Mariano weren’t the only ones opposed to the proposed apartments.

Seven emails in opposition were read into the record, and 17 other emails in opposition were received and filed.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey and Commission Chairman Ron Oakley, however, said the site seems suitable for apartments.

Starkey said the site is close to two transportation corridors and it also is within walking distance to nearby jobs.

While Moore has repeatedly complained that the area is oversaturated with apartments, Starkey disagreed with Moore’s position.

“I’m not sure this area is overbuilt for this price point. I think most of the housing around here is actually very expensive,” Starkey said.

Oakley said an apartment development on the site makes sense.

“I think the project fits,” Oakley said. “I don’t think the traffic would be a problem. I don’t think there’s going to be any issues with the schools. And, I think it fits in the neighborhood where it’s located. It’s a good project, as far as I’m concerned.”

Initially, when commissioners voted on Moore’s motion for denial, there was 2-2 split, with Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick not voting.

She asked for greater clarification, and after receiving it, voted against Moore’s motion.

She said she agrees with the project because it will be next to the hospital, and within walking distance.

Next, Mariano moved for a 60-day continuance, which Moore seconded.

Fitzpatrick supported the continuance to give her time to thoroughly study the issue.

That motion passed on a 5-0 vote.

After the vote, Oakley said, “I feel like I’ve been in a workshop I shouldn’t have been in.”

Published January 20, 2021

BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel is taking shape

December 8, 2020 By B.C. Manion

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held last week for the new BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, under construction at 4501 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

The Dec. 2 event was dubbed “ceremonial” —  because crews already are working hard to build the 318,000-square-foot facility that is scheduled to open in early 2023.

While the sounds of construction work served as a backdrop, officials offered remarks about the project. It is being built on land the hospital chain acquired in 2008.

This rendering shows what BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel will look like when it opens in 2023. (Courtesy of BayCare)

Mindful that the “groundbreaking” milestone was being celebrated during the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the gathering was kept small. Guests, were bundled up because of brisk weather. They wore masks, and the seating was spaced out to encourage social distancing.

BayCare Chairman of the Board Eric Obeck, reflected on some of the challenges posed by COVID-19, while addressing the audience.

“While 2020 has been an unprecedented year for health care that has called for tough decisions and creative solutions, we are grateful to celebrate the long-term goals that brought us to this moment,” Obeck said.

“I’m proud to be part of an organization that keeps setting the pace, even as we react to the coronavirus impact on our daily business,” the health care official continued.

From left: Glenn Waters, BayCare executive vice president and chief operating officer; Eric Obeck, BayCare chairman of the board; Mike Moore, Pasco County Commission chair; Hope Kennedy, North Tampa Bay Chamber president and CEO; and, Becky Schulkowski, BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel operations director, fling a shovel of dirt.

“Over the past few months, we have canceled and restarted elective procedures and visiting hours. We have offered our team members early retirement and managed to retain our workforce of nearly 30,000 team members without furloughs or layoffs,” he said.

BayCare also has continued its plans to expand its hospitals in St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor and Clearwater, even while building the first hospital to bear the BayCare name, Obeck said.

Glenn Waters, executive vice president and chief operating officer of BayCare, offered some project details.

“Our 86-bed general community hospital will provide medical/surgical care, emergency care, cardiac care, surgical care – including general surgery, orthopedics, urology and gastroenterology – imaging, and outreach lab services.

“Beyond the ‘beds’ and the ‘services’ we provide, we will hire about 220 team members to be the heart and soul of BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel,” he added.

Waters noted that the nearly 30,000 people who work across the BayCare system, make it a great place to work.

The year 2020 was the third consecutive year that BayCare was named one of Fortune’s 100 best companies to work for anywhere in the country, Waters added.

BayCare Chairman of the Board Eric Obeck offers remarks during a Dec. 2 ceremonial groundbreaking for BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel.

He also cited recognition for the hospital’s quality of care.

“According to IBM Watson, we are in the top 20% of high-performing health systems across the country,” Waters said.

The event also included a reflection from Father Aloysius Ezenwata, a director of mission with BayCare. He read a selection from scripture, offered some commentary and shared a prayer.

In part, Ezenwata said, “In building this BayCare Hospital in Wesley Chapel, we are continuing to live out our mission, which is to ‘Improve the health of all we serve through community-owned services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.’”

He added: “Today we continue to build on the legacy of the founders of BayCare Health System, to care for our community, to be our sisters’ and our brothers’ keeper.”

At the conclusion of the official remarks, Waters and Obeck joined Becky Schulkowski, BayCare’s operations director, Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore and North Tampa Bay Chamber President and CEO Hope Kennedy, to fling a ceremonial shovel of dirt.

BayCare is building its new hospital just down the road from AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, a hospital that opened in 2012. It already has undergone an expansion and added new services to meet the high-growth area’s burgeoning health care demands.

Published December 09, 2020

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05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

The “Let’s Do Good Memorial Day Concert” is scheduled for May 28 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Tunnel to Towers provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children, and builds custom-designed smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The foundation is committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and aiding the victims of major U.S. disasters. The event will include vendors, gifts, a Forget-Me-Not Garden, and more. Entertainment will be provided by Fred Chandler, Charles Goodwin, Cruz Er Mac, Mike Henderson, and Travis White. Special guests include Congressman Gus Bilirakis and State Sen. Danny Burgess. Rain date is Sept. 10. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

05/28/2022 – Pet supply drive

Munchies Natural Pet Foods, 1722 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host a Pet Supply Drive on May 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to benefit the Pet Peace of Mind Program at Gulfside Hospice. Gulfside team members will be on site to offer information about the program and to collect donated supplies, such as pet food, cat litter, treats, basic supplies and other items. The donations will be distributed to hospice patients, to help provide care for their pets. For information about the Peace of Mind program, visit Gulfside.org, or call 727-845-5707. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Pet supply drive

05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

The North Tampa Bay Chamber’s Summer Seafood Festival is scheduled for May 28 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Tampa Premium Outlets, 2300 Grand Cypress Drive in Lutz, between the outlets and At Home. There will be seafood, crab races, a kids zone, live bands, craft beer, a local market, a Nautical Art Show, and a crab claw-eating contest. For information, call 727-674-1464. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

05/30/2022 – Memorial Day Ceremony

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05/30/2022 – Memorial Day closings

The Pasco County Tax Collector’s five offices will be closed for Memorial Day on May 28 and May 30. These offices will be closed on May 30: Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources, recreation complexes and community centers; GoPasco public transportation; all Pasco County libraries; Pasco County Animal Services administration office, adoption center, intake/reclaim shelter, and field services; and the Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility. … [Read More...] about 05/30/2022 – Memorial Day closings

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The New River Library, 34043 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, will host Summer Reading Story Times: Oceans on May 31, for toddlers at 10:15 a.m., and for preschoolers at 11 a.m. The story times will be repeated on June 1, at the same times. For information, call 813-788-6375. To register, visit PascoLibraries.org. … [Read More...] about 05/31/2022 – All about oceans

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