Contact: Scott Samples, Public Information Coordinator
Phone: (772) 223-4920
Cell: (772) 708-3319
Email: scott.samples@martinhealth.org   

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., March 14, 2012 – Fourteen years after it first sought permission to build a hospital in west Port St. Lucie, Martin Health System officially broke ground for Tradition Medical Center with a ceremony that attracted hundreds of community members.

The 201,184-square foot hospital is expected to open in early 2014. When completed, it will feature 90 patient beds with the potential to expand to approximately 300 patient beds.

“This is a moment that has been a long time in coming, but we recognized that having a hospital in west Port St. Lucie was critical to residents here,” said Mark E. Robitaille, president and chief executive officer of Martin Health System. “We are excited to be able to bring this community access to high-quality health care, close to home.”

The hospital will be located at the southwest corner of Tradition Boulevard and Interstate 95. Located on a 20-acre site on the campus of Tradition Center for Innovation, the hospital will be one of the largest economic development projects ever in St. Lucie County.

Once fully operational, it will create more than 400 jobs. During the building phase, an estimated 1,000 construction-related jobs will be created. The capital investment will exceed $110 million and Martin Health is committed to utilizing as many local resources and companies as possible on the project. 
 
The hospital will help Martin Health continue to enhance its partnerships with the life sciences organizations at Tradition Center for Innovation.

Since 2009, the health system has collaborated on a number of research studies with VGTI Florida and plays a key role in Tradition Center for Innovation’s development. Tradition Medical Center will be built near Torrey Pines’ facility and across a lake from the facility VGTI Florida opened Feb. 29. Martin Health and Mann Research Center are working on plans for a medical office building that would be located adjacent to the hospital, providing convenient access for patients and health care providers.
 
Martin Health began seeking permission to build a hospital in west Port St. Lucie in 1998 and filed numerous applications over an eight-year period. In June 2007, Martin Memorial received preliminary approval from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration for a certificate of need to build the hospital. The approval was challenged, but in October 2010 the First District Court of Appeals ruled in Martin Health’s favor, ending the challenge.
 
Following that decision, Martin Health began partnership with KLMK Group, Balfour Beatty, HKS Architects and TLC Engineering to assist in the planning, designing and construction of Tradition Medical Center.

“We are grateful to everyone in the community who has supported our efforts to build a hospital in west Port St. Lucie,” Robitaille said. “Tradition Medical Center will play a key role not only in enhancing health care in the community, but also in advancing life science research and creating jobs for years to come.”

About Martin Health System: Martin Health System is a not-for-profit, community-based health care organization that has served the region for more than 70 years. It offers a continuum of care including preventative, primary and acute hospital care, as well as cancer and cardiac care, wellness and rehabilitation services. Its approximately 3,000 Associates, 375 affiliated physicians and 900 volunteers provide care at 12 different locations serving Martin and St. Lucie counties. Martin Health is a six-time winner of the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals Award, has twice been named a Thomson Reuters 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals award winner, and received designation as a National Employer of Choice designee for 2009 and 2010-11. To learn more, visit martinhealth.org.