According to Hospital News and Healthcare Report, HCA Florida Ocala Hospital is making a landmark investment in North Central Florida's healthcare infrastructure, committing nearly $200 million to construct a new seven-story patient tower and significantly expand its surgical capabilities.
The project, announced April 10, 2026, will add more than 470,000 square feet to the hospital system and bring 62 new private care rooms online, pushing the total bed count across the hospital system to 647. Construction is set to begin this year and is expected to create over 70 direct healthcare jobs, along with a range of additional support roles.
CEO Alan Keesee described the expansion as a defining moment for the facility, telling Hospital News and Healthcare Report that the investment is designed to ensure patients can access the care they need, when and where they need it, as the surrounding community continues to grow.
The new tower is being built with future scalability in mind. Initial construction will include a 16-bed intensive care unit — bringing the system's total ICU capacity to over 100 beds — along with two 26-bed medical, surgical, and telemetry units. A central utility plant will also be built to support the tower, which is structurally designed to accommodate up to seven full floors as demand increases. A new 806-space parking garage will also be added to improve campus accessibility.
On the surgical side, the project involves building new operating rooms, reserving shell space for future expansion, relocating and enlarging the vascular lab and procedural areas, and upgrading pre- and post-operative recovery spaces. Chief Operating Officer Lisa Tzanakis said the improvements will allow the hospital's clinical teams to serve a greater number of patients while positioning the facility to meet the demands of future generations.
The expansion is part of a broader pattern of growth, the report noted. HCA Florida West Marion Hospital recently added 52 jobs and 40 new inpatient rooms, and a new freestanding emergency room in Ocala is expected to open in 2027. Both Ocala and West Marion hospitals operate as teaching facilities in partnership with the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. On this year's resident match day, HCA Florida Ocala Hospital welcomed 65 new residents set to begin in July 2026, bringing the system's total to 181 residents and fellows for the 2026–2027 academic year.
Since 2020, Hospital News and Healthcare Report notes, HCA Florida Healthcare has pursued a steady pace of regional expansion, adding neurological and cardiovascular ICU beds, expanding cardiology catheterization labs at both Ocala hospitals, opening an inpatient rehabilitation unit at West Marion, enlarging the Ocala emergency department, and adding four new operating rooms at West Marion.
