Florida's population growth, increasing baby boomer population and tax-friendly stance contribute to it becoming a key battleground for orthopedics, with many high-profile practices such as Rothman Orthopaedic Institute and Hospital for Special Surgery recently expanding to the Sunshine State.
Here are 10 key orthopedic developments in Florida this year:
1. Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth on Dec. 16 topped off its 12-story Innovation Tower that will be dedicated to orthopedics and neuroscience. The $100 million facility, expected to open in late 2022, will house Philadelphia-based Rothman Orthopaedics and Orlando Neurosurgery.
2. Orlando (Fla.) Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, a $250 million project, is on track to open in 2023. An adjacent medical pavilion and a 12-operating room ASC will open in late 2022.The 75-bed hospital will span 195,000 square feet and is expected to bring 500 jobs to the community.
3. New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery launched an outpatient total joint replacement program in West Palm Beach, with Martin Roche, MD, serving as director.
4. Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Fla., partnered with Flagler Health+ to build an ASC in St. Johns, Fla., and develop a wider network of sports medicine providers and services in Northeast Florida. In 2020, Flagler launched its Orthopedic Specialists practice, which has facilities in Palm Coast, St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra, Fla.
5. Orthopaedic Associates of St. Augustine (Fla.) affiliated with Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeast Orthopedic Specialists to create a multispecialty musculoskeletal care platform with more than 100 providers. Under the partnership, Orthopaedic Associates of St. Augustine will join Phoenix-based Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company's integrated care network.
6. Orthopaedic Medical Group of Tampa Bay (Fla.) is building a 37,000-square-foot complex in Lithia, Fla., that will serve as its new headquarters. The 10-surgeon practice expects to have 50 to 75 staff — with the capacity to add more — at the complex, which will include an ASC and medical offices.
7. A group of 29 orthopedic surgeons are planning to build a 24-bed surgical hospital in Delray Beach, Fla., despite some opposition from the community. The surgeons argue that there is a need for the facility, partly because of Palm Beach County's projected baby boomer growth, which is expected to increase 40 percent by 2030.
8. Orlando-based UCF Lake Nona Medical Center, a $175 million facility with inpatient and outpatient spine and orthopedic surgery, opened March 1. The academic hospital is a partnership between the University of Central Florida in Orlando and HCA North Florida Division.
9. Aventura (Fla.) Hospital and Medical Center opened a 90,000-square-foot tower that houses its Orthopedic & Spine Institute. The expansion was a $60 million investment by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and HCA East Florida.
10. Coastal Orthopedics is developing an 88,000-square-foot medical center and headquarters in Bradenton, Fla. The facility will include a surgery center, physical therapy and imaging services, and offices. Construction is set for completion by spring 2022.