Breaking ground: Baptist Health’s new emergency and patient tower begins to take shape

Today, Baptist Health broke ground on a new, four-story, ultramodern emergency and patient tower at the health system’s flagship campus shared by Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville and Wolfson Children’s Hospital. The move marks a major step forward in expanding and enhancing access to advanced care for adults and children in Northeast Florida when they need it most. The McGehee Family Tower is named in honor of community philanthropists Debbie and Sutton McGehee Jr., whose transformative gift helped make the project possible.

More patients receive emergency care at Baptist Health’s main campus than at any other hospital in the Jacksonville area. The 123,000-square-foot McGehee Family Tower will significantly enhance the health system’s capacity to provide the highest level of care for a wide range of health needs. These include chest pain, stroke, behavioral health crises, complex illnesses or injuries, pediatric trauma and more.

Designed with patients and their families in mind, the tower will elevate the patient experience by combining comfort and clinical efficiency in a care environment rooted in compassion.

“We continuously strive to create great experiences for our patients and their families, and our new emergency and patient tower has been designed from the ground up to reflect that commitment,” said Michael A. Mayo, DHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “We are so grateful to the McGehee family for helping to bring this project to life. Their legacy of compassion will touch the lives of future generations.”

McGehee Family: Philanthropy that spans generations

As longstanding supporters of Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Baptist Health across multiple generations, the McGehees have a deep interest in the health system’s efforts to enhance community health, most especially for children. The couple, along with their three daughters and sons-in-law, contributed funds toward the Borowy Family Children’s Critical Care Tower through the “Hope Starts Here” campaign in 2020. Frank McGehee, Sutton’s father and co-founder of the family business Mac Papers, generously dedicated over 20 years of his time and leadership as a member and chair of the Wolfson Children’s Hospital board. Frank’s sister, Ellen Cavert, founded The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital, and Sutton and Debbie’s daughter, Ray, is currently a member of the Wolfson Children’s Hospital Development Council.

In 2017, the McGehees also established an endowment, the Del and Peggy Dallas Chair in Breast Cancer Care, at Baptist MD Anderson, named in honor of Debbie’s late parents. Her father received treatment for gastric cancer at MD Anderson in Houston.

“We wanted to make a lasting gift for our community that we have called home for generations,” said Debbie and Sutton McGehee. “We raised our kids here and our grandchildren are growing up here. Supporting this new patient and ER tower helps to make sure that Baptist Health and Wolfson Children’s Hospital can continue to care for current and future generations of families in the Jacksonville area.”

Expanding access to care

The new tower will open in phases, and upon the project’s completion in 2029, will feature:

• Two separate emergency centers—one for adults and one designed to meet the special needs of children—waiting areas and 100 emergency patient rooms: 63 for adults and 37 for children, including three pediatric trauma rooms on the first floor;
• Dedicated imaging, laboratory and ancillary resources to support emergency and trauma services;
• A new endoscopy suite, shell space for new cardiac procedure rooms plus expanded areas for pre- and post-operative heart procedures on the second floor;
• Plans for a future expansion that will add 68 inpatient rooms on the third and fourth floors; and
• An upgraded emergency entrance designed for a streamlined arrival experience, with a prominent patient drop-off zone offering patients and their loved ones quick and easy access to care.

“For the past 70 years, the community has relied on us in their time of need,” said Nicole B. Thomas, FACHE, hospital president of Baptist Jacksonville. “We take this responsibility to heart and believe everyone deserves access to safe, high-quality care. Breaking ground on our tower reaffirms our long-standing commitment to being here 24/7 when our patients and their families need us most.”

With distinct centers for adult and pediatric emergency care, adults aged 18 and older will be treated at the Baptist Jacksonville emergency center, an Accredited Chest Pain Center and the region’s only Joint Commission-Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Children aged 0 to 18 will receive specialized care at the Wolfson Children’s Hospital emergency center, which features a child-friendly design as well as specialized equipment, clinical protocols and multi-disciplinary 24/7 pediatric care teams providing life-saving treatment at Wolfson Children’s Porter Family Children’s Trauma Center—the region’s only state-designated, American College of Surgeons (ACS)-verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. The facility offers comprehensive trauma care for all injuries, including burns, drownings, falls, motor vehicle accidents and wounds.

“Children receive the right care faster when they are treated in facilities designed for their unique needs. That is why our network of pediatric emergency centers can deliver the best possible outcomes to kids facing life-threatening trauma,” said Allegra C. Jaros, MBA, president of Wolfson Children’s Hospital. “This new tower will ensure we can continue to provide consistent, top-quality emergency care here in our community to the youngest residents of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.”

Emergency rooms at Baptist Jacksonville and Wolfson Children’s Hospital will continue to remain open 24/7 throughout the entire duration of the construction project. Dedicated personnel and wayfinding signage are helping guide patients and their families to the emergency services they need.