Winter Park Health Foundation Contributes $3 Million to Launch Hospital’s Building Campaign
The Winter Park Health Foundation (WPHF) has announced it will contribute $3 million to launch Winter Park Memorial Hospital’s (WPMH) campaign to raise funds to expand the hospital to meet the growing needs of the community.
The announcement of the gift, and details of the hospital’s wide-ranging expansion plans, were announced together at the hospital’s 50 th anniversary celebration on January 29.
Specifically, the WPHF’s funds are earmarked for the rebuilding and expansion of WPMH’s emergency department and urgent care services. When completed, the new hospital facility will be named the Winter Park Health Foundation Emergency and Urgent Care Center.
The contribution, noteworthy for the WPHF in terms of its size and its intended use for a building campaign as opposed to program development and support , was approved in a special Board of Trustees meeting recently because of the legacy shared by the hospital and the foundation.
“We were there at the very beginning of Winter Park Memorial Hospital–because our organization was actually created in the early 1950’s to raise money to help open the hospital,” explained Allan E. Keen, chairman of the WPHF Board of Trustees.
“And now, though the hospital and our foundation work independent of each other, we believe it is critically important to continue to take a leadership position …and to support our shared legacy, and mission of helping make Winter Park the healthiest community in the country,” he said.
It is hoped that the WPHF contribution will inspire others to give generously, and that it “will help ensure that Winter Park, and surrounding areas, will have a very strong and vibrant community hospital, and a hospital that has as a major component …a first-class, state-of-the-art facility for the treatment of emergencies and the provision of urgent care,” Keen said.
When WPMH first opened its doors, it had 58 beds, two operating rooms, one fracture room and one delivery room. Today, it has 275 beds and treats more than 50,000 patients a year and the demand for services is surging.
At the completion of the expansion project, the hospital will have about 400 inpatient beds, a unit dedicated to women’s services and the baby place and an expanded emergency department.
“We are excited about the opportunity to embark on this expansion project which will allow our hospital to better meet the increasing needs of this community,” said Ken Bradley, CEO Winter Park Memorial Hospital. “Winter Park Memorial Hospital has grown alongside the city of Winter Park and we look forward to advancing health care services in our community.”
