Baptist Hospital will not provide any medical services at its E Street campus after it moves on Saturday, Sept. 23, even though 80% of the people living within a mile of the campus told them that health care was their top priority.
- However, Baptist has been telling the public and elected officials something very different since it first announced the new hospital in June 2019.
Press Release – June 2019
Baptist pledges to maintain a “significant” presence that includes clinical services.
Press Release:
Baptist will maintain a significant presence at its current E Street location to include the majority of Baptist Health Care system administration, system support services, and Lakeview Center, as well as other programs and clinical services, and will remain a vital part of the community where it was founded.
The E Street campus will be redesigned as a hub for an expansion of vital community-based services that are more efficiently and effectively provided outside the conventional hospital setting.
Read the full press release.
Press Conference – June 2019
Baptist says it’s committed to the E Street community, and clinical services are part of that commitment.
“We’re going to do this in a way that allows us to maintain a significant presence at our current E Street campus,” Faulkner said at a press conference on the E Street campus. “We are not sure how yet. Here’s what we are sure of—we are committed to this community.”
Read “Baptist Hospital making a move”.
June 2021
When local media reports residents’ concerns, Baptist renews its commitment to provide “some kind of medical services.”
Two years later, the Baptist CEO reiterated that position with News Journal reporter Emma Kennedy (PNJ, “‘Forgotten residents’ around Baptist Hospital worry for their future as facility plans move,” 6/23/21). Faulkner said Baptist was committed to keeping a presence in the area to provide some kind of medical care to the residents.
Redevelopment Vision – May 2022
Baptist officials announce their redevelopment vision with much fanfare after over three years of research, community discussions and input from urban planning experts. Its survey of those within walking distance of the E Street campus tells them what people want the redevelopment to include – and affordable housing tied for fourth.
- The community living within a mile of the old campus places a priority on healthcare over affordable housing for the redevelopment of the old campus.
Ranked third among its seven main components of the vision was ensuring a solution to meet the health care needs of the neighborhood.
The redevelopment vision reimagines the campus as a mixed-use development that seeks to incorporate multi-family and single-family housing as well as community-enhancing services such as parks and other green spaces, economic opportunities, and social and health services. The seven main components of this redevelopment vision are:
- Public investment in a new park on the western side of the main campus and a Moreno Street greenway.
- Public investment to restore selected street connections to the original street grid, including the reconnection of I Street between Mallory and Moreno streets.
- Baptist ensuring there is a solution for health care that meets the needs of the neighborhood and surrounding areas.
- Mid-rise multi-family buildings built by housing developers possibly including both workforce housing and mixed-income developments.
- Market-rate single-family homes and/or townhouses built by housing developers.
- Workforce single-family homes and/or townhouses built by housing developers.
- Non-residential active ground floor spaces to be used for neighborhood retail, community facilities and other community-enhancing uses.
Read the press release.
- To persuade Pensacola City Council to buy part of the campus for a park, Baptist ensures it will find a solution to meet that need.
The Redevelopment Vision was presented to the Pensacola City Council in May 2022. The top future use that the community living within walking distance of the old campus said it wanted from any redevelopment was Healthcare services (80%). Affordable housing tied for fourth with Education & training at 54%.
The presentation to the city council also included a slide that emphasized the point that health care would be a major component of the redevelopment. Read Council Presentation.
