PLANT CITY, Fla. — With more people moving to Hillsborough County, there’s an increased need for health care. South Florida Baptist Hospital is opening its doors soon. The hospital is targeting a May opening date and expects to make a formal announcement within the next few weeks.

This hospital will be double the size of the existing location in Plant City, which is 500,000 square feet.

There’s already one location in Plant City on Alexander Street. It’s 70 years old, and hospital management decided to build a bigger and newer replacement instead of renovating the existing building to meet the needs of the community. There will be 146 rooms, all private, with Alexa technology to customize patient needs. There will also be a helicopter pad to transfer patients to a higher level of care. The $326 million state-of-the-art facility was built to accommodate the growth in the area. For example, over time, if more people move to the city, they can add extra emergency rooms.

Karen Kerr, president of South Florida Baptist Hospital, said, “It’s very significant when you think about even the financial commitment that’s been put into Plant City, a $326 million facility that, as we talked about before, will serve this community for years to come, state-of-the art, all private rooms, which is very different from where we are now.”

But this hospital is equally important to its staff. Teresa Shelby, the assistant nurse manager of labor and delivery at South Florida Baptist Hospital, says there are so many additions to her unit, especially new technology.

At the old hospital, the unit would help around 500 moms a year, but with this new hospital, that number could double.

“We are expanding from 3 labor rooms to 7,” she said.

Teresa says everything about the hospital is different.

“It is so much bigger than what we have at the current facility. Everything about it is bigger,” she said.

She’s been with the BayCare Health System for 27 years at their legacy location in Plant City.

“I myself was born in Legacy Hospital, so I’ve always been here in Plant City,” she said.

Over time, she’s experienced firsthand how many people are moving to the Plant City area and how important it is to have a new hospital.

“Monday when I went into work, we didn’t have any patients in labor. By the time I left and got there Thursday morning, every unit was full, so I was like, we need to be in the new hospital right now,” she said.

Teresa says the new facility will be a huge upgrade.

“This is just going to be a blessing for the labor and delivery unit to grow that unit,” she explained.

It’s a big opportunity for the hospital, providing much-needed access to more people.

The hospital is also the largest employer in Plant City.