compassion & technology

The Pensacola Bay Area’s expanding health-care system rivals that of any major metropolitan area.

Along with seven outstanding hospitals, there are numerous outpatient clinics, emergency medical facilities and wellness programs throughout the region.

The health industry is one of the strongest sectors of employment in the area. The industry works closely with Pensacola Junior College and the University of West Florida, which offer twoand four-year degrees in nursing, respectively. Pensacola Junior College also offers certificate programs for dental hygiene, dental assisting, radiography and sonography.

The hospitals, the schools and the larger network of healthcare providers in the area make the medical community a vibrant, important component of the Pensacola Bay Area economy and community.

The Pensacola Bay Area’s hospitals are Baptist Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital, West Florida Regional Medical Center, Naval Hospital Pensacola, Santa Rosa Medical Center, Baptist’s Gulf Breeze Hospital and Jay Hospital. Each hospital has its own areas of specialization, but they all excel in a wide array of health-care services.

Among the seven hospitals are leaders in neonatal care, pediatric care, oncology, in-vitro fertilization, orthopedics, and safer, less invasive approaches to heart bypass surgery.

Baptist Hospital and Sacred Heart provide emergency medical helicopter services to the area.

Baptist Hospital features the Kugelman Cancer Center.

Alliances with several key research groups allow this facility to provide cancer patients with cutting-edge treatments that are awaiting FDA approval.

West Florida Hospital features the Cancer Institute, and Sacred Heart Hospital is an affiliate of the Gynecologic Oncology Group.

Sacred Heart’s Ann Baroco Center for Women’s Health specializes in mammography and early detection of breast cancer.

Gulf Breeze recently added a cancer care center.

All of these facilities give cancer patients a wide range of options for exceptionally good care.

The mission of the Andrews Institute for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze is to provide the best medical care for the musculoskeletal system through Orthopedics and sports medicine, utilizing innovative clinical and surgical technologies, and to improve patient care through research and education, emphasizing prevention.

The institute, part of the Baptist Health Care System and will be directed by internationally renowned orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, MD., and comprised of several divisions including: Multi-specialty Ambulatory Surgery Center, Outpatient Rehabilitation, Diagnostic Imaging Center, Athletic Performance Center, a Research and Education Institute, and a multi-specialty office park for physicians.

Sacred Heart Hospital is highly regarded for its women’s and children’s care facilities.

Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital is the regional center for children in Northwest Florida. It includes a neonatal intensive-care unit for premature and critically ill infants, a pediatric trauma center, a pediatric dialysis unit and pediatric primarycare and dental clinics.

The hospital is affiliated with the Nemours Children’s Clinic.

West Florida Hospital includes special centers for geriatric care and neurosciences. It is a state-designated level-two trauma center and state-designated center for acute brain and spinal-cord injuries.

West Florida also features the area’s only state-certified memorydisorder center, which provides expert care for illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Sacred Heart and West Florida, the Santa Rosa Medical Center, Gulf Breeze Hospital and Jay Hospital provide a high level of care to their local communities.

Gulf Breeze Hospital includes the Fertility Institute of Northwest Florida, which is the site of the area’s first in-vitro fertilization program.

Santa Rosa Medical Center has been ranked among the top 100 orthopedic hospitals in the nation.

Jay Hospital, which occupies the most rural setting of the area hospitals, offers advanced technology such as CT and MRI imaging to its local community.

In the rapidly growing areas of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, there has been a tremendous influx of medical service offices during the past several years.

Pace, Navarre and Gulf Breeze now have many specialists including dentists, optical centers, chiropractic clinics, cosmetic surgeons and physical rehabilitation centers.

Naval Hospital Pensacola services more than 73,000 Department of Defense eligible family members throughout Northwest Florida and South Alabama. It recently added six new, state-of-the-art labor, delivery, recovery, and post-partum suites, with plans for four more, putting it at the forefront of Navy medicine’s family-center care initiative.

Top-notch pharmacies are readily available with delivery services.

Home-health-care agencies are plentiful and meet the needs of homebound residents.

Adult day care and assisted-living facilities are available in the Bay Area.

In addition to medical facilities and services, there are many wellness services and programs available in the area.

Natural foods, fitness programs, yoga, spas and relaxation programs and many other opportunities are available to help Pensacola Bay Area residents feel and look their best.