Orlando Health opened a freestanding emergency room on State Road 54 in Lutz on Sept. 15, adding a 24-hour option for families in Pasco County, which has grown by roughly 500,000 residents since 1970.

The 10,865-square-foot facility at 20600 State Road 54, near Henley Road, treats adults and children. It has 10 exam rooms, on-site imaging and laboratory services, an ambulance bay and a resuscitation room, as first reported by the Tampa Bay Beacon.

Inside the new Lutz emergency room

It also includes cardiac and respiratory monitoring spaces and a results waiting area. Joe Delatorre, CEO of Florida Medical Clinic Orlando Health, said in a news release that the ER was built in response to the area's continued population growth and demand for health care close to home.

Orlando Health builds out its Pasco presence

The opening came less than two months after Orlando Health, a nonprofit system, cut the ribbon on its five-story, 102-bed Wiregrass Ranch Hospital in Wesley Chapel. The health system plans to grow that hospital to 300 beds by 2028 as part of a $750 million, 47-acre campus expansion.

Two buildings are already under construction at the Wesley Chapel site: a 90,000-square-foot medical office building and a dedicated women's center. Orlando Health also plans to break ground on a 50,000-square-foot medical office on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

Pasco County is projected to add more than 200,000 residents by 2045, according to the Beacon. AdventHealth, HCA and BayCare are also investing in the county.

Mascots, a preview and what's next

Orlando Health West Coast said in a Sept. 15 post on X that Tampa Bay Rays mascot Raymond and Tampa Bay Rowdies mascot Pete attended the opening celebration. The Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce hosted a community preview Sept. 12 with facility tours, refreshments and music.

The next visible milestones for the health system's Pasco footprint are the two Wesley Chapel campus buildings and the Bruce B. Downs building, all targeted for completion by 2028.