Baptist Hospital prepares to transfer patients to new $650 million campus

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) -After 73 years on Moreno Street, Baptist Hospital will soon open the doors to its new facility on Brent Lane near I-110 which some feel will be a good change for patients.

“There’s a lot of people with disabilities and stuff that have to travel too far so this will bring it in,” said Bobby Holle.

“We serve patients all across this region so we know that it will be easier to access,” said Brett Aldridge Senior Vice President and Administrator at Baptist Hospital. “We know the facility itself is easier to navigate.”

It’s a 57 acre campus that’s been designed to make patients feel as comfortable as possible while giving them access to the latest healthcare equipment.

“We also have additional capacity in our emergency department, and our operating and procedure areas, our cardiovascular, across the board,” said Aldridge.

While the team puts the final touches on the hospital, they’ll start moving patients from the old campus to the new one. With help from Escambia County EMS and local law enforcement they’ll use 16 ambulances to transport roughly 150 patients from 5am to 5pm.

“The emergency department at our old campus will close at 3 am and the new campus will open at 3am so if you have an emergency you can come to our new campus starting at 3am September 23rd,” added Aldridge. “Our campus for any other services will be closed during that day.”

Baptist Hospital says all outpatient and physician clinics will open next Tuesday to kickstart a new era of healthcare in Pensacola.

“It’s needed because of the growth in Pensacola,” said Johnny Taylor. “It’s going to be a great thing for the community.”

“My medical group is Baptist,” said Holle. “I wish them the best of luck because I might have to go there one day so it’s nice knowing there’s somewhere available.”

As for the old campus, Baptist Hospital says they’ve partnered with Paces Foundation which will look to build affordable housing on site if they can get approval from the state.

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