New Oviedo emergency facility could serve 10K people each year

OVIEDO, Fla. — The city of Oviedo will soon be getting an emergency room of its own.

Central Florida Regional Hospital will open up a freestanding emergency facility with a trauma room in Oviedo next month. The Sanford-based hospital also purchased an additional 6 acres of land for possible future expansion.

The ER will service all of eastern Seminole County.

Mayor Dominic Persampiere said the city has been trying to get emergency services or a hospital since the 1990s to provide care to the underserved area. People have to travel nearly 10 miles to get to the closest hospital.

"Closest hospital would really have been Winter Park or Florida Hospital East," Persampiere said.

Seminole County resident Tom Johnson remembers when his daughter was little. She's now expecting a baby of her own.

"When she was younger, we rushed her off to emergency cares and I always appreciate when they are close by so I can get her there quicker and get things taken care of," Johnson said.

Johnson is from Winter Springs but said he's noticed the lack of emergency services in Oviedo.

The new ER is expected to serve more than 10,000 people each year living in Oviedo and east Seminole County.

The facility will be open to the public a few days after the Nov. 15 ribbon-cutting.

WFTV