December 23, 2019
Last Tuesday, University of Florida Health announced plans to acquire Central Florida Health, which includes Leesburg Regional Medical Center (to become UF Health Leesburg Hospital) and Villages Regional (UF Health The Villages Hospital).
The news comes shortly after another announcement from UF Health just days before, releasing their proposal to establish new facilities in The Villages. Along with being one of the countries fastest growing areas, it is also home to a large community of retirees-- the median age being 70 years old, according to this demographic breakdown. UF Health spokeswoman, Rossana Passaniti, expressed interest in an email at the prospect of bringing healthcare to the retirement community.
The plans to expand will add to UF Health’s existing two main campuses, eight hospitals (two teaching facilities and five specialty hospitals), six health colleges and nine research institutes. The new health-care site will accommodate researchers, students and wellness services personnel while also introducing an acute care hospital.
In the last decade, the number of hospital mergers have increased greatly-- with 17 in 2018 alone. Larger health corporations prove to be more productive and efficient, thus allowing for cost reductions. UF Health has previously worked closely with Central Florida Health, a fact that serves optimistic in terms of a smooth transition.
To read more about the acquisition, as well as when and where we can expect to see these changes come into play, check out this article.
