The medical business continues to boom on the Treasure Coast.

Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce announced last week that it plans to expand its intensive care unit.

The $16.8 million project will bring the hospital’s total bed count in intensive care to 54, making it the largest intensive care unit on the Treasure Coast. There are about 40 beds in intensive care now, said Jana Eschbach, a hospital spokeswoman.

The announcement comes just months after HCA Inc.-owned Lawnwood opened a
trauma center. The center, which has seen about 375 patients since opening in May, is the only one between West Palm Beach and Melbourne.

Hospital officials say the expansion in intensive care will reduce wait times for the emergency room and the hospital in general. One section in the expanded intensive care unit also will be devoted to patients coming out of surgery in the trauma center.

The project is expected to be complete in 2011.

There have been a couple of other medical expansions in St. Lucie County recently. WellMed Medical Group opened a new 3,500-square-foot facility Friday at 513 N.W. Lake Whitney Place in St. Lucie West with a celebration.

The site has a medical clinic, laboratory services and such advanced testing as ultrasounds.

Martin Memorial Health Systems, which has two hospitals and numerous clinics on the Treasure Coast, opened a stand-alone emergency care center in St. Lucie West earlier this month.

The clinic, at 1095 N.W. St. Lucie West Blvd., is about 9,100 square feet with 12 beds. The facility is staffed and equipped to handle acute injuries and illnesses, but is intended to serve less serious ailments.

Tags: Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Health, St. Lucie County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.