The new 128-bed Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, scheduled to open in 2017, was recently 'topped out' with the placement of a young foxtail palm on its concrete apex, according to an article on the News-Press website.
The hospital, currently a 98-bed health center housed since 1994 within the nearby HealthPark Medical Center, is the only such children's care center between Tampa and Miami.
The health system has said a new hospital is needed to accommodate the growth in population and prevent sick children from being transferred to other hospitals far from home.
This new facility will be able to expand to 160 beds eventually. It will also allow for large, specialty medical equipment and many more private rooms. Its removal from HealthPark will provide space for that hospital to add nearly 50 adult beds.