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Orlando Health and Watson Clinic team up for Lakeland hospital

The healthcare organizations are collaborating to design the new south Lakeland hospital and plan its health services before it opens in 2026.

March 11, 2025 • 
Connor Jacobson
A rendering of the exterior of the new Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital. The building has several stories and a large glass wall facing the front entrance.

The hospital is currently under construction off of Lakeland Highlands Road.

Rendering provided by Watson Clinic

Orlando Health is partnering up with Watson Clinic for its new hospital. Now known as Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital, the collaborative medical facility is set to open in June 2026.

In a press release, Watson Clinic said that experts from both organizations are working together to design the building, select technology, and plan health services. This will be one of Orlando Health’s first forays into Lakeland healthcare, but Watson Clinic has been serving Lakelanders since 1941.

While opening day is still more than a year away, take a look ahead at what’s planned, by the numbers:

  • 300+ inpatient beds
  • 69 emergency and observation beds
  • 8 labor + delivery rooms
  • 25 postpartum obstetric rooms
  • 18 intensive care unit beds
  • 11 operating rooms
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