OCOEE, Fla. — Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for a massive expansion at Health Central Hospital in Ocoee.
The nearly $14 million project comes as west Orange County's population continues to grow.
The facility, which is owned by Orlando Health, opened its doors in 1995 and had its first expansion more than 10 years ago.
Census data shows that since the first expansion, Ocoee and Winter Garden have grown by about 40,000 people. Nurses said that's why they've had wait times of up to several hours in the emergency room.
"It hurts my soul. I try to do my best to get them the help they need but sometimes it's just so busy," said one nurse.
The expansion is mostly funded by the West Orange Health District and includes 40 new patient rooms. In addition, it will put emergency services that are currently separated together in one area.
Once the expansion is complete, patients will be able to have private rooms, which nurses said can help stop the spread of infections.
"They'll always be like, 'Oh I need a private room,' and I'll say, 'Unfortunately you know we don't control that,'" said nurse Megan Brill.
The expansion is expected to be completed by summer of 2016.
WFTV
