ORLANDO, Fla. – HCA Florida Healthcare will open a new freestanding emergency room in downtown Orlando near Colonial and Peachtree Road in the spring of next year. It will be one of around 30 freestanding ERs across Central Florida, with at least 19 of those opening within the last four years.
Crews are already hard at work off Peachtree Road and Colonial Drive in downtown, building a 11,260-square-foot freestanding emergency room.
“I think it’s just good for the community, especially if it’s urgent and quick,” Parramore resident Jamir Simmons said.
Simmons, who recently waited more than 30 minutes to treat severe back pain, said he hopes the new facility will shorten wait times.
[WATCH BELOW: Former site of Rockledge Hospital gets torn down]
“I didn’t really like it too much because it’s cold in there and it’s other people in there waiting too,” he said. “The quicker you can get people out, the less stressful the process will be.”
According to HCA officials, 175,000 patients living within a five-minute drive of the downtown location visit local emergency rooms each year. Orlando City Commissioner Shan Rose says the new facility will help fill a gap in access to care.
“Typically your insurance will say, ‘Hey, you can’t go to a doctor,’ then you can’t go to urgent care,” Rose said. “This is kind of like a buffer in between. Let’s be able to serve the people who need the emergency services.”
Rose added that transportation issues in areas like Parramore make this location especially important.
“Being able to walk, bike, scooter or take the bus creates access,” she said.
[WATCH BELOW: Dollars & Sense: The business of better health care]
The downtown location will add to the 32 freestanding emergency rooms currently open across Central Florida, comprised of 14 operated by HCA, 11 by AdventHealth and seven by Orlando Health, according to their websites.
That number is more than five times what it was in 2018. But not everyone is convinced more ERs are needed.
“Now I will admit, sometimes going to the emergency room at ORMC is going to cause quite a wait. However, they deal with the most urgent cases when they come there,” Parramore resident Terry Wilson said.
HCA is planning to add three more standalone ERs, including the HCA Downtown Emergency Room, which is set to open next spring.
Other HCAs Freestanding ERs:
- HCA Florida Airport North Emergency
- HCA Florida Hunter’s Creek Emergency
- HCA Florida Millenia Emergency
- HCA Florida Maitland Emergency
- HCA Florida Alafaya Emergency
- HCA Florida Baldwin Park Emergency
- HCA Florida Heathrow Emergency
- HCA Florida Mount Dora Emergency
- HCA Florida Casselberry Emergency
- HCA Florida Osceola East Emergency
- HCA Florida ChampionsGate Emergency
- HCA Florida Haines City Emergency
- HCA Florida West Orange Emergency
- HCA Florida West Volusia Emergency
Coming Soon:
- HCA Florida Auburndale Emergency, opening in Winter Haven in late December 2025
- HCA Florida Downtown Emergency, opening in downtown Orlando in spring 2026
- HCA Florida Wekiva Emergency, opening in Apopka in spring 2026
AdventHealth Freestanding ERs:
- Clermont
- Lake Mary
- Oviedo
- Waterford Lakes
- Lake Nona
- Partin Settlement
- Palm Parkway in Dr. Phillips
- Flamingo Crossings
- Millenia
- Sanford
- Poinciana
Orlando Health Freestanding ERs:
- Osceola
- Randal Park
- Reunion Village
- Waterford Lakes
- Longwood
- Blue Cedar
- Four Corners