John Moore, President, Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital
AI will play a larger role in the healthcare sector going forward, identifying diseases and helping physicians provide care, John Moore, president of Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, told Invest:. “I don’t think we’ll be backing away from that as an industry. That trend is there,” he said.
What were the key milestones for Bayfront in Tampa Bay over the past year and how do you expect 2025 to unfold?
2025 will be a pivotal year for Orlando Health in the region, and that is certainly led by Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital. The campus will have two major facilities opening in mid-2025. These will provide well over 200,000 square feet of healthcare facilities, creating better access for the citizens in the communities we serve. We will be opening a comprehensive oncology center in one of the buildings that will include medical, surgical, and radiation oncology. We will be opening a state-of-the-art orthopedic center in one of the buildings as well. We will have one building dedicated to women’s health.
Over the past year and a half, we completed our acquisition of Florida Medical Clinic, a large multispecialty physician group that includes 52 office locations in Hillsborough and Pasco County, well over 400 providers, and nearly 2,000 employees. It also includes multiple surgery center and radiology center locations. That acquisition, and now the integration of all our physicians in St. Petersburg with the groups based in Hillsborough and Pasco, will allow us to continue to grow our footprint, creating more access points for patients throughout the Tampa Bay region.
2025 will also be a year in which we work toward opening our new hospital in Wesley Chapel in Pasco County. That hospital will open in mid-2026. It’s under construction now. In addition, we will create more access points with freestanding emergency rooms, the first one being in Lutz, Florida, which is in Pasco County. Over the past year, we have worked to grow the services that we offer in the communities we serve, and you’ll see a continuation of that over the next few years.
How are you planning to use the donation of $2 million from Thomas and Mary James?
We have a robust and well-known cardiology program at Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital. It is located in the James Heart Center which was created from a previous donation by Tom and Mary James. They followed that up this past year with the donation that you mentioned. With those new funds, we are working toward further enhancements in our cardiology program.
How has the organization contributed to the community, both economically and in terms of access to healthcare?
Over the past year, we’ve broadened our partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete. The work they are doing now in our community is simply amazing. We’ve partnered with them on grants for not-for-profits who focus on healthcare, education, and equity. Through a matching donation program we have given nearly $3 million in grants. We focus heavily on community participation, community outreach, and on providing funds that are used to better our community.
Are there any specific trends that you are seeing, and how are they impacting your hospital?
We continue to see enhancements in the use of AI in medicine, helping to identify various disease states and enhancing the ability of our physicians to provide appropriate, focused care.
We are also continuing to look at unique ways to grow and support the workforce. We must, as an industry, look at how we can help the workforce in their daily lives. As we know, the cost of housing and the cost of living overall continues to increase, and these areas will continue to be a focus.
What are you doing to develop the workforce pipeline?
We work with St. Pete College and USF here in our community, along with many private educational programs. We start at the high school level, showing students what is available in healthcare. To this day, so many students still don’t know about the opportunities that exist in healthcare, and we work hard to show them through shadowing and other on-site educational opportunities, as well as provide scholarships to help promote individuals entering the workforce.
What are your thoughts on the cost of healthcare and how is Bayfront working to mitigate this cost for patients?
We continue to look at ways to be more efficient and effective in how we provide care, focusing on quality and the outcomes while on this journey. Certainly, making healthcare more efficient and cost-effective, is top of mind.
Reimbursements for private healthcare insurers as well as federal and state government players continue to be reduced year over year, which makes it a priority for all of us to look to provide the most efficient, cost-effective care that provides the best outcomes.
