UF Health is one step closer to opening its newest freestanding emergency room, which will soon provide convenient access to high-quality health care in Wildwood and surrounding communities as the demand for services continues to grow.

Health officials and local community and government leaders celebrated Thursday with a ribbon-cutting and open house for the UF Health The Villages® Hospital Freestanding E.R., slated to open in early February.

 “This is a special day for UF Health and The Villages® and I am especially proud of the team of dedicated professionals and construction partners responsible for bringing our vision to fruition by making this center a reality for our community,” said Don Henderson, CEO of UF Health Central Florida. “Area residents will now have access to the fast, efficient, advanced medical care they need close to where they work and live.”

The modern, 25,000 square-foot facility will be open 24/7 and will feature a full complement of staff, including physicians, nurses and patient care technicians, and will be equipped with 16 beds, two of which will be situated inside state-of-the-art trauma bays. To allow for future expansion, the facility contains additional space that eventually will accommodate a total of 24 beds.

The UF Health The Villages® Freestanding E.R. will feature laboratory, pharmacy and respiratory therapy services as well as the latest diagnostic imaging technologies.

In 2019, more than 80,000 patients visited the emergency rooms at the facilities now known as UF Health The Villages® Hospital and UF Health Leesburg Hospital.