St. Lucie Hospital Expansion to Address Surging Birth Rates on Treasure Coast
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital is expanding its capacity to meet a dramatic increase in labor and delivery demand along Florida’s Treasure coast, with new facilities slated to open in December or January. The expansion comes as the region experiences rapid population growth and following the recent closure of the maternity unit at Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital.
Hospital officials report births at St. Lucie Hospital nearly quintupled in August, rising from 26 deliveries in August 2024 to 140 in August 2025.The expansion will add 25 new labor and delivery beds, including 10 Level II Neonatal intensive Care unit (NICU) beds, with additional Level III NICU beds planned to follow.
“So the needs are definitely [what] we see from a capacity perspective, just accommodating the number of deliveries and then also the acuity of services-even having the NICU,” said Corey Lovelace, CEO of HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital.
The increased capacity is expected to alleviate pressure on the regional healthcare system. samantha suffich, CEO of the Martin County Healthy start Coalition, stated, “I think it’s a wise decision that HCA St. Lucie decided to expand the way that they did. It was very timely and very proactive. It should relieve that pressure for the entire system right now.”
Dr. Michael McCurdy of Women’s Health Specialists, which recently relocated all deliveries to HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital, echoed this sentiment. “Almost on a daily basis,I get requests. Not just for people who are newly pregnant, but for people who are in their second trimester or third trimester,” McCurdy said. “We are seeing a big influx.” He added, “It’s much less likely we’ll have to ever transfer our patients and our patients will have care even in those circumstances of prematurity.”
The closure of Cleveland Clinic Martin North’s maternity unit contributed to the strain, with a notable influx of patients directed to Cleveland Clinic’s Tradition hospital. The expansion at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital aims to address the growing needs of expectant mothers and provide complete care, including advanced NICU services, throughout the Treasure Coast region.