CEO Todd Jackson of HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville, FL, announced on Thursday, March 7, 2024, the plan to build a new freestanding emergency room in DeFuniak Springs.

• The $19 million project aims to bring top-quality healthcare services closer to home for residents of North Walton County.

The hospital purchased a nine-acre parcel of property at the southeast corner of Highway 331 and Interstate-10 in DeFuniak Springs, which was part of a larger 95-acre parcel acquired by CEFCO.

Jackson said that CEFCO is currently developing the infrastructure necessary to support commercial businesses on the land that was previously farmland.

The 11,000-square-foot freestanding ER will feature 12 treatment rooms, including a dedicated trauma room equipped with resuscitative equipment and surgical capabilities. The facility will also have a full suite of services, such as CAT scan, x-ray, laboratory, and pharmacy, to support the needs of emergency medicine patients. 

• A dedicated entrance for EMS will be available for ambulances delivering patients to the facility.

“We’re extremely excited to bring the top quality health care services closer to home for residents of North Walton County,” said Jackson. “For years, they have traveled over to our facility in Niceville and we look forward to bringing that health care closer to home for them.”

The hospital has been planning and developing a strategy for North Walton County over the last two to three years, as they have seen a significant number of patients from the DeFuniak and Freeport areas. 

• The decision to build a freestanding ER in DeFuniak was based on data analysis and the need to have a physical presence in the community, according to Jackson.

The project is expected to take about 18 months to complete, with the goal of seeing their first patients in the third or fourth quarter of 2025. The freestanding ER will be designed in a way that allows for the potential addition of an inpatient hospital in the future, depending on the evolving needs of the community. Jackson said that as of now, that is currently not part of the current plan.

“It’s a really big deal for us at Twin Cities Hospital, and we’re looking forward to being in North Walton County,” he added.