SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Some Seminole County residents are about to have more convenient access to around-the-clock emergency care.
Central Florida Regional Hospital is a new, one-of-a-kind emergency room on Red Bug Lake Road in Oviedo.
"Time is brain tissue," said emergency room physician Jim Snyder. "We've just got to do these things in a hurry."
When paramedics get someone in an emergency situation they don't have a lot of time to think about where to take them. The new trauma room will mean a shorter transport time for patients in the Oviedo area.
The closest hospitals for most people in the Oviedo, Chuluota and Geneva areas are at least 30 minutes away.
"It's been terrible long waits, a lot of problems. Having our own ER to take our sick ones, it's going to be wonderful," said emergency room physician David Harbour.
Harbour will be one of the doctors on staff at the new emergency room. It has 12 private rooms, a trauma room and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The standalone facility, under the umbrella of Central Florida Regional Hospital, can't function as a full-fledged hospital. But the doctors who are working at the facility said it is a huge step.
"Oh, I think this is great. This is the best thing ever," said Harbour.
Patients with serious trauma injuries, like gunshot wounds or crash victims, would ultimately be taken somewhere else, after stopping at the Oviedo facility to be stabilized.
Officials said they hope to open the emergency room by the end of November.
WFTV
