BayCare eyes outpatient service site in Hillsborough
By Margie Manning
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 27, 2016

BayCare Health System Inc. has bought 18 acres in Valrico that could become an outpatient facility for the system.

While BayCare's plans are preliminary right now, a new outpatient facility would increase competition for services provided outside of a hospital setting in the Tampa Bay area. Health systems and hospitals increasingly are focused on outpatient centers, which are easier and more convenient for many people to access, as reimbursement models shift and they are paid to keep patients healthy.

BayCare paid $2.7 million to purchase the land on Dec. 12, according to a deed filed in Hillsborough County circuit court. County property records show it's on the north side of Bloomingdale Avenue, just east of Lithia Pinecrest Road, and across the street from the Publix Super Market at Shoppes of Lithia.

The property currently is being used as pasture land, according to property records.

BayCare hopes to develop an outpatient services facility on the site, said spokeswoman Beth Hardy. She did not have further details and said those involved with the project are not available until after the first of the year.

BayCare, the largest nonprofit health system in Tampa Bay with 14 hospitals and $3.3 billion in revenue, lists half-a-dozen existing outpatient facilities on its website, including two health centers in Trinity and in Largo, and four outpatient centers in Palm Harbor, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Riverview. A health center is distinct in that it has multiple buildings on the campus, Hardy said.

In southern Hillsborough County, one of BayCare's top competitors, HCA West Florida, has two outpatient surgery centers in Riverview and in Brandon. Tampa General Hospital expects to open its Brandon Healthplex outpatient medical center in early 2017.

Margie Manning is Finance Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal. She covers the Money beat.