Wellington Regional Medical Center, working with the City of Westlake, announced plans this week to expand access to emergency care in central Palm Beach County with the construction of a freestanding emergency department in Minto’s Westlake development.
The hospital received site plan approval from the City of Westlake at a meeting held Monday, Feb. 12.
Located on the east side of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road at the south side of Persimmon Blvd. East, the full-service emergency room will provide emergency care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new facility is expected to open in late 2018.
“We are honored and excited to be the first non-residential development in the Westlake community,” WRMC CEO Robbin Lee said. “By expanding our emergency services, we can better meet the needs of our growing community and provide access to emergency care where it is needed. It has been our goal to create a true emergency department by including a full complement of services, staff and technology. We will be equipped to handle everything from scrapes and sprains, to patients who are experiencing chest pain and the symptoms of a stroke.”
According to Westlake officials, the Westlake City Council approved a plan calling for a 10,379-square-foot freestanding emergency department with room for future expansion of a 2,000-square-foot medical office building.
The 5.66-acre site at 16400 Persimmon Blvd. will be sold by Minto Communities Inc. to Universal Health Services Inc., WRMC’s parent company.
“This is our first significant non-residential project to date at Westlake, and the first major expansion of Wellington Regional Medical Center outside of its current campus,” Minto Vice President John Carter said. “In the early stages of our community development for Westlake, we have started the process of creating essential services for our future residents and those who already live in the surrounding communities.”
Minto also has plans to develop a town center, which the company envisions as a “new downtown” for the central part of the county. As part of its development agreement with Palm Beach County, Minto is approved to build 4,500 homes and more than two million square feet of commercial space at the 3,800-acre master-planned community. Westlake’s first neighborhood, the Hammocks, will have 325 homes and is currently under development with six model homes available for touring.
This is the third major community project that Minto has undertaken since Westlake was approved by the county. The award-winning builder is currently improving a 1.5-mile section of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. It also donated nearly 4.5 acres of land to Palm Beach County to construct Fire Station #22, which will serve as the district headquarters.
