Thanks to a generous charitable gift from M. Lee Pearce, M.D., Holy Cross Hospital already known for its high-quality service is now able to provide area residents with even greater and easier access to outpatient services.
He said part of the property is a building that houses a veteran affairs primary care clinic, but the VA will be moving out next year, into a new facility built for them by the federal government. “We’ll be able to develop the VA space in concert with the space we currently occupy at the HealthPlex, which includes about 125,000 square feet. It has an ambulatory surgical center with four operating rooms, suites with four procedure rooms, a full-service imaging center to include CT, MR, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, mammography, X-ray, and the like. There’s vacant space on the second floor of this building that we’re in the process of developing into medical offices. It will become an orthopedic center for orthopedic surgeons.”
Additionally, Dissette said HealthPlex is working on a hospital/physician joint venture for some of the space. What all of this means for Holy Cross patients and area residents is a greater variety of services with easy accessibility.
“Over time, after the VA moves out, we’ll be augmenting these existing services to include a broader scope of services physician offices, and larger therapy areas to include physical therapy, aqua therapy, and perhaps other related outpatient services,” he said.
He pointed out that Broward County continues to grow, and having this growth of medical services is important, particularly because HealthPlex is just 1-1/2 miles from the Hospital itself.
Dissette said Dr. Pearce approached Holy Cross at the end of last year about putting together a transaction, and it closed March 16. “We assumed operations March 19,” he said. “The initial six months included change of license, change of ownership, changing from one legal entity to another, getting building permits, and the like. So it’s been a busy six months, but we’re excited about the prospects for the future. We anticipate that the physical build-outwe hope to start on the second floor by the end of this yearwill take six to eight months. But it’s an exciting opportunity and an exciting project. Ultimately it will be worth the effort. The ultimate goal is to provide access to the quality care for which Holy Cross Hospital is known.”
And Holy Cross Hospital is indeed known for quality care. For example, HealthGrades, the nation’s leading provider of health care quality information, has named Holy Cross One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals. HealthGrades also rated Holy Cross a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence and in the top 5 percent of hospitals in the country for overall clinical services for the past five years. Holy Cross is the only hospital in Broward County to receive either distinction.
“We continue to carry out the mission of the Sisters of Mercy and their foundress, Catherine McAuley, whose credo was to address the health care needs of those in the communities we serve specifically the underserved, women and the poor,” Dissette said. “We take pride in that and continue to promote that mission.
“With the changes in health care, every day is a challenge. But keeping in mind the reason we’re here and the mission of the institution helps us achieve our goals.”
