With an assist from past and present patients and a clear eye on the future, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital broke ground — multicolored sand actually — Thursday on a new hospital in Wesley Chapel that will bring specialized pediatric care closer to home for families north of Tampa Bay.

As a crowd that included community physicians, local officials, hospital and health system executives, board members and staff, donors and patient families looked on, patients stole the show, including one intent on covering all the orange sand with green and another who quipped that the new hospital would cut an hour off his commute time.

“This new project represents our unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care closer to home and advancing health in our community,” says Alicia Schulhof, M.H.A., FACHE, president of Johns Hopkins All Children’s. “The Wesley Chapel hospital will not only enhance our ability to deliver cutting-edge medical treatments, but also foster an environment where patients feel supported, cared for, and respected. It will be a space designed with both innovation and compassion at its core—a place where healing happens not just in the body, but in the mind and spirit as well.”

Pasco County is among the fastest growing regions in the Tampa Bay area. It and other areas north of Tampa Bay are projected to have pediatric population growth of 12% between 2023 and 2032. Currently, 93% of patients living in Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties travel outside the immediate area for pediatric specialty care.

The new 56-bed hospital will be on a 112-acre site near Interstate 75 and Overpass Road. It will feature a 16-room Emergency Center, four operating rooms, an infusion center, sleep laboratory, a gastroenterology procedures suite, and inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services. The second floor of the new hospital will be a 25,000-square-foot outpatient care center with 36 rooms. 

“Today, we’ve turned the first shovels of sand, but more importantly, we’ve planted the seeds for a brighter, healthier future for our community,” says Justin Olsen, J.D., M.H.A., vice president and chief operating officer at Johns Hopkins All Children’s.

In January, Johns Hopkins All Children’s brought specialty care in pediatric cardiology, endocrinology, pulmonology and surgery to the east Pasco County area through an All Children’s Specialty Physician’s Outpatient Care location in nearby Lutz. The site also offers diagnostic services, including echocardiograms, EKG, Holter monitoring and pulmonary function testing.

The hospital long has provided specialty care in western Pasco County at an outpatient location in New Port Richey. It acquired a maternal-fetal medicine practice in Trinity in 2024 and provides newborn medicine care through a collaboration with HCA Florida Hospital Trinity. Johns Hopkins All Children’s plans to start an OB-GYN practice in Pasco County this year. These sites expand Johns Hopkins All Children’s ability to provide care close to home for families throughout the west coast of Florida.