HEALTH
TWO HOSPITALS,
The rivalry between HCA and Martin Memorial
means more choices for Port St. Lucie residents
The Hospital Corporation of America opened St. Lucie Medical Center, located east of U.S. 1 on Tiffany Avenue, in 1983. Underscoring the rivalry
between HCA and Stuart-based Martin Memorial, Martin several years later bought a medical complex on Tiffany Avenue across the street from
St. Lucie Medical Center.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SUSAN BURGESS Two buildings, one a hospital and the other a
medical office building, sit side by side east of
U.S. 1 in Port St. Lucie, quietly symbolizing the
rivalry between HCA St. Lucie Medical Center
and Martin Memorial Health Systems for the
medical business of Port St. Lucie residents.
They’ve been together since Martin Memorial bought the
practice in the medical building in 1994.
But even before that, medical services were available in St.
Lucie County from both healthcare systems. The Port St.
Lucie hospital opened in 1983 and Martin Memorial opened
its MediCenter on Port St. Lucie Boulevard that same year.
The MediCenter was moved to St. Lucie West in 1995.
Now they both want to serve patients from the western
part of St. Lucie County — Martin by building a new hospital
in Tradition and a new emergency center in St. Lucie
West; and St. Lucie Medical by continuing to use its expanding
hospital, emergency center and physician practice east of
U.S. 1, along with its new walk-in clinic in St. Lucie West.
MARTIN’S APPLICATION
Until the state finishes hearing appeals from the Hospital
Corp. of America’s objections to Martin Memorial’s plan to
build a new hospital, no one will know which side will
prevail. But with the growing western population and
increasing traffic load on roads to the existing hospital in
Port St. Lucie, many have opinions.
“Considering the size of the city at build-out, which
should be around 450,000 sometime after 2030, we’ll need
several hospitals out there,” said Port St. Lucie Mayor Pat
Christensen. “Who owns them remains to be seen, but personally,
I’d like to see our residents have a choice. We certainly
need a hospital in the west. It makes all the sense in
the world. And if HCA was in a central location, I don’t
think we’d need it so soon.”
Tradition resident Jessica Soumoff also thinks the western
area needs a hospital.
“It’s very important that we have a hospital here,” she
said. “I don’t know that I prefer one over the other as long
as it offers quality care. It takes about 25 minutes or so to
get to St. Lucie Medical Center from here when there is a
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ONE CITY
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