About 45,000 residents along the State Road 64 corridor who currently lack nearby emergency access are set to gain two new freestanding ERs within the next few years.
The Manatee County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 13 to recommend approval of a BayCare Health System freestanding emergency department near the southwest corner of SR-64 and Lena Road, next to Coastal Orthopedics. The 12,800-square-foot facility would sit on 2.81 acres owned by Core Suncoast III LLC, with BayCare as the contract purchaser, according to the county planning commission notice.
The vote is a recommendation only. The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners holds final authority and is expected to hear the proposal at a land use meeting in September, Your Observer reported.
BayCare has not released an opening date, staffing plans or operational details for the site.
Meanwhile, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center's ER at Lakewood North, approved by county commissioners in March, is on track to break ground this fall. That 13,450-square-foot facility sits at 10106 SR-64 East, about 0.8 miles west of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, according to county planning records.
Why the SR-64 corridor was chosen
The SR-64 corridor was chosen because roughly 45,000 people there have no emergency option other than calling an ambulance or driving south to Lakewood Ranch Medical Center or west to Manatee Memorial Hospital.
"We want to be the hospital of choice, so providing these access points enables us to meet patients where they are and also strengthens our overall presence in the market," Lakewood Ranch Medical Center CEO Jason Madsen told Your Observer.
Madsen, who took over as CEO on July 1 after nine years with parent company Universal Health Services, said freestanding ERs relieve pressure on the main hospital's emergency department while giving patients faster care closer to home.
Kathleen Keen, an engineer with VHB representing BayCare at the Aug. 13 hearing, told planning commissioners that about 10% of freestanding ER patients typically need transport to a full hospital. Most patients drive themselves in, Keen said.
Area's ER count set to grow to five
If both facilities open, the Lakewood Ranch area will have five freestanding ERs total, based on county records. The first, HCA Florida Braden River Emergency at 8500 State Road 70 East, opened in 2018. Lakewood Ranch Medical Center's ER at Fruitville followed in December 2020, and Sarasota Memorial ER at Lakewood Ranch on University Parkway opened in January 2025.
In Florida, freestanding ERs must operate under a parent hospital's license. BayCare, which runs 16 hospitals in the Tampa area, currently operates only one freestanding ER, the Bardmoor Emergency Center in Largo, open since 2008. Six more are in BayCare's pipeline across the Tampa Bay region.
BayCare is also building BayCare Hospital Manatee in Parrish, with ambulatory services anticipated later in 2026 and a full opening in 2028.
The county commissioners' next land use meeting is listed on the Development Services calendar for Sept. 3, though the BayCare ER item has not been confirmed on that specific agenda.
