Health First’s Viera Hospital Prepares for Its Grand Opening With the Future In Mind

When facing emergencies and other illnesses, Viera residents can soon count on having a full-services, state-of-the-art hospital just around the corner. On April 2, 2011, Viera Hospital will open its doors for all types of medical care in the beautiful five-story, 100 all-private-bed, acute-care, not-for-profit hospital.

“Viera Hospital will be the beacon of quality health care for our community,” says Chris Kennedy, president and CEO of the fourth hospital within the Health First family in Brevard County.

Viera Hospital is the cornerstone of the Viera Health Park campus which includes two other integrated health care facilities within walking distance of one another; the Medical Plaza opening in 2011 and the currently open Pro-Health & Fitness Center Viera.

Located west of Interstate 95 on the southwest corner of Wickham Road and Lake Andrew Drive, the 50-acre Viera Health Park campus is centrally located in one of the fastest growing regions of the state. Research estimates the resident population within Brevard County, and more specifically the Viera/Suntree area, has increased significantly in the last decade.

“Given this dynamic growth, the need for a new hospital is obvious and we are working hard to open this hospital and meet this critical need,” says Deborah Angerami, vice president of operations at Viera Hospital.

The New Hospital Will Feature:

• A 24-hour Emergency Department
• 100 all-private observation beds
• Full medical and surgical capabilities
• Inpatient diagnostic and lab services
• VitalWatch® (remote electronic ICU) 2-way audio/video in all ICU rooms and eCareMobile critical care service units for every patient room
• Hurricane-hardened construction

Patient-First Philosophy

The diversity of services available in the new Viera Health Park range from exercise and physical therapy at the Pro-Health & Fitness Center, to emergency services and specialty surgeries in the full-service hospital, to walk-in care, as well as a wide variety of medical specialties in the 76,000 square-foot Medical Plaza, that will include Health First Physicians’ primary care providers; the newly relocated Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center of Brevard under Orthopedic Surgeon Jeffrey Greenspoon, M.D.; and a new location for the Space Coast Cancer Center (SCCC) under SCCC President Richard Levine, M.D.

Also moving into the Medical Plaza are plastic surgeons Frank Venzara, M.D., and Robert Bashore, M.D., who are expanding their Central Brevard practice to the Viera area, offering plastic/reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.

“The Viera community, as well as residents throughout Brevard County, will be proud to call Viera Health Park their own,” says Pamela A. Gatto, president of the Board of Directors for Viera Hospital and president of Gatto’s Tires & Auto Service. “As members continue to enjoy the wellness benefits of the newly opened Pro-Health & Fitness Center on the Viera Health Park campus, anticipation from the community for the opening of the hospital and the medical office building has been extraordinary. It’s gratifying to see how the skyline of Viera is changing to meet its residents’ health care needs.”

Sally Forsberg, vice president of nursing for Viera Hospital, says that the hospital has been specially designed with patients’ needs in mind. “Our nursing stations have been built as ‘pods,’ rather than the more traditional, centrally-located unit bases. This means fewer steps for our nurses and faster response time to our patients.”

Cutting-edge technology will be evident throughout the hospital, including the very latest in electronic medical records (EMR) – meaning no more paper records. Kennedy says that Health First always has the future in mind.

“We designed the hospital’s fifth floor as a wired shell so that our medical and/or surgical services will be able to expand as community needs increase. Additionally, Viera Hospital is constructed to be hurricane-safe and will stand ready to take in patients from hospitals less protected from hurricanes and tropical storms.”

Kennedy says that this is all part of the one-stop, patient-first philosophy which has driven the development of the project since its conception.

Says Kennedy, “Our plan will always be to give the residents of Viera the best possible care right in their own neighborhood.”