Nemours Revises Investment Level In Central Florida Community
Nemours Enterprise
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 @ 12:00 AM EDT
Today Marks One-Year Anniversary of Nemours Initial Announcement for a Children’s Hospital in Orlando
Nemours, one of the nation’s largest children’s health systems, today announced an increased investment level in the Central Florida community due to escalating construction costs. On July 11, 2005, the organization announced plans for a subspecialty children’s hospital in Orlando. In its Certificate of Need application to the State of Florida, Nemours estimated a total investment of $249 million in the proposed hospital including the Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Construction costs alone for the project were estimated at $176.8 million. Today, the organization anticipates a 10-12 percent increase over the original anticipated construction costs. For every month construction is delayed, the project costs could increase as much as one percent of construction costs, which is higher than the national average because of Florida’s tremendous growth and the shortage of building materials following the recent years of hurricanes.
“The need for a hospital that provides integrated pediatric specialty services is very real and will continue to grow as our population increases by leaps and bounds,” stated Karen Breakell, director of community relations for Nemours. “Delays to build the hospital result in increased construction costs, which might be tens of millions of dollars that could be spent on the children. Every day we wait to build this hospital is a day the needs of underserved children with complex or chronic medical conditions are not being met.”
The new children’s hospital has been proposed in the Southwest Orlando area on a 28-acre property located at I-4 and Conroy Road. This location is also the future home of the new Nemours Children’s Clinic in Orlando, which will break ground later this year. Project architects include Atlanta, Ga.-based Stanley Beaman and Sears and Winter Park-based RLF Inc. Additional design services have been provided by the Palo-Alto, Calif.-based innovation firm of IDEO.
modified: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 @ 01:15 PM EST
created: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 @ 01:15 PM EST
About Nemours
Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.
Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.
Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.
