ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Johns County holds its grand opening today after nearly two years of construction.
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Ascension St. Vincent’s based the new hospital’s location on a data-driven analysis of where hospital services were most needed. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population in St. Johns County grew 43% from 2010 to 2020 and it’s one of the fastest-growing counties in America.
Pamela Chatman has been a traveling nurse for the past 30 years, and in that time, she’s witnessed the boom in the county firsthand.
“It has grown. I used to come down here, especially around 10 to 12 years ago,” she remarked. “And this was all nothing but forestry.”
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The new hospital is located along Interstate 95 and County Road 210 at 205 Trinity Way and cost approximately $175 million to build and open. The building is 150,000 square feet, has 56 beds and includes 8 intensive care unit beds. However, there is room for expansion based on community needs.
“I think it’s great,” Chatman said. “They definitely need it here because otherwise parents or they would have to travel up towards Old St. Augustine and sometimes you need that right here.”
The organization’s move to the area is expected to create 600 new jobs in the community.
“Definitely going to be jobs created: doctors, nurses, anesthesia people, things like that; it’s going to help,” Chatman pointed out.
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Services will include emergency services, inpatient hospitalization, health care, orthopedics and musculoskeletal care, general surgery, lab services and imaging.
Ascension St. Vincent’s broke ground on the new hospital on Dec. 4, 2020. The medical office building adjacent to the hospital opened on June 27. Specialty care at the building includes cardiology, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, as well as pulmonology.
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Ascension St. Vincent’s now has four hospitals:
- Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside (opened 1916)
- Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside (formerly St. Luke’s, opened 1873)
- Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County (opened 2013)
- Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Johns County (opened 2022)