The West Kendall community has spoken and Baptist Health South Florida has answered residents’ requests for a hospital in the West Kendall area. A groundbreaking ceremony for West Kendall Baptist Hospital will be held on September 13.

“We are very excited to begin construction on West Kendall Baptist Hospital,” said Brian E. Keeley, president and CEO, Baptist Health South Florida. “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the West Kendall community which rallied and wrote more than 5,000 letters in support of this much-needed hospital.”

The 282,000-square-foot, four-story hospital will include maternity services, surgery and endoscopy. Diagnostic and imaging capabilities will include CT scan, MRI, PET scan, nuclear medicine, x-ray and ultrasound. All patient rooms will be private.

West Kendall Baptist Hospital is slated to open with 80 beds and the capacity to quickly expand to 134 beds. The emergency center will handle more than 40,000 visits annually.

A freestanding, four-story, 63,000-square-foot building for physician offices with an outpatient diagnostic and imaging center on the first floor will be adjacent to the hospital.

West Kendall Baptist Hospital, due to open in 2011, will be built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 180 mph. It will incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards in construction for environmental responsibility and sustainability. The campus will house 970 parking spaces in phase one of construction. The project has been designed by MGE Architects; its design is a modern take on the classic Mediterranean style of Baptist Hospital.