Blake Medical Center Breaks Ground on Addition and Renovation

From James A. Jones Jr. for The Bradenton Herald –

Bradenton, Fla. – Blake Medical Center broke ground Thursday on a hospital expansion that will add four new operating rooms and 11 post-anesthesia bays.

The project also will expand and upgrade existing surgical support space, and expand the intensive care unit to 43 beds, an increase of six.

“We must stay ahead of growth in our area,” Randy Currin, Blake’s president and CEO, said, citing one study that shows the population of the Bradenton-Sarasota area increasing by 50 percent in the next 25 years.

Combined, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties could see another half million people by the year 2045, according to a study by the University of Florida.

Thursday’s ceremony was held in the physician’s parking lot on the north side of the hospital where the new surgical facilities will be located.

Charles Perry Partners Inc. has been selected to handle the construction and renovation project, which will add 12,800 square feet to the existing first-floor surgery unit. In the surgery support area, 12,000 square feet will be added. Also, the physician’s lounge and locker rooms will be upgraded.

The intensive care unit will grow by 10,500 square feet. In addition, the hospital’s 12,000-square-foot kitchen and dining area will receive a complete renovation.

Blake Medical Center, a 383-bed hospital that has served Manatee County since 1973, has been aggressively expanding and upgrading its facilities in recent years.

In January, Blake completed an expansion of its emergency room, complete with new MRI technology. In 2020, Blake opened its neurointerventional laboratory with imaging capabilities. Also in 2020, Blake opened a new center for breast health. In 2015, Blake opened its burn and reconstruction center.

Blake, one of 35 trauma centers in Florida, serves Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

“Blake is part of our community and is becoming better and better all the time,” said Trudy Moon, chair of the Blake Board of Trustees. “We have the resources so we can keep up with the changes. Blake is ready, so bring it on.”

Blake, owned by HCA Healthcare, declined to release cost estimate for the newest project. HCA purchased L. W. Blake Memorial Hospital in 1980 and renamed it Blake Medical Center.