KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Florida Hospital Kissimmee opened a new patient tower Wednesday that includes 80 private patient rooms.
Along with more rooms to treat people, the hospital has a now has a cafeteria with a Latin twist.
The 1,000-square-foot addition to the existing hospital campus has yet to open to patients, but Channel 9’s Roy Ramos got a sneak peek at the new $60 million investment.
Photos: New tower opens at Florida Hospital Kissimmee
The new tower is equipped with 80 private rooms, a retail shop, a chapel and prayer garden, and a Latin-inspired cafeteria, to meet the needs of the growing Hispanic community in Kissimmee.
“We are going to have a lot of Latin-inspired food on our menu,” said the hospital’s CEO, Jeff Villanueva.
The cafeteria, called Cocina 8, will offer dishes like arroz con gandules and other Spanish dishes.
“We will be able to meet the needs not only from a patient care perspective, but folks that also just want to come over and have a great meal,” Villanueva said.
Physicians said the comfort of visitors is crucial during the recovery process and that privacy is a necessary convenience.
“Historically in the past when hospitals have gotten busier, patients have had to share room and that is something that we know is an inconvenience for the patients and family members,” said ER physician Dr. Ketan Pandya.
While comfort was necessary in the design, so was cutting-edge equipment for treatment.
One of the many features in the new patient tower is the eICU.
Patients will have the opportunity to be seen by physicians and nurses from across the country while they lay in their hospital bed.
“With the older building that we have, we were unable to provide the services to our patients that we wanted to,” said Pandya. “What this new tower does is it allows us to provide services to more patients in a better environment.”
The eICU is part of a pilot program and only in one room of the hospital.
It is the first hospital to use the device in the Orlando market.
Patients will begin transitioning to the new tower next week.
Renovations to the old building will begin Monday.