LAKELAND, Fla. — A new hospital opening next month is looking to fill more than a thousand jobs as it prepares to serve one of Florida’s fastest-growing regions.
Hundreds of people recently made their way to Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital, located at 1600 Lakeland Hills Blvd. in Lakeland, for its sixth hiring event since last year. Less than a week into training for her new job, Miracle Lanier remembers how she felt during the recruitment process.
“I was very, very nervous, I’m not going to lie to you,” she said.
Lanier recently accepted a position as a patient transporter. The Polk State College student says the role gives her hands on experience working in healthcare.
“They have the option where you can start from literally the smallest job here and go all the way up and start anywhere. They have places literally everywhere around,” she said.
The hiring push comes as healthcare providers across Florida continue to face workforce challenges. Chief Nursing Officer Jenny Beakley says the hospital is currently looking to hire 600 registered nurses and 1,500 team members before opening day.
Beakley says the new facility will have an impact beyond healthcare, creating jobs while expanding access to medical services in a county that’s seeing rapid population growth.
“It’s an opportunity for the residents of Polk County to maybe not have to travel as far. It brings more resources to stay within the county, instead of driving outside for the county to work or even to receive the healthcare” she said.
Beakley says strong turnout at recent hiring events reflects both an interest in healthcare careers and a demand for new employment opportunities in the area. For Lanier, the new job is also a first step toward her long-term goal of becoming a medical professional.
“With them I feel like I can get everything done the right way and just be around great and amazing people,” Lanier said.
The Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital will open with more than 300 inpatient beds, 69 emergency and observation beds, 11 working operating rooms, four cardiac and interventional suites and 18 beds in an intensive care unit (ICU) that will serve 36 patients at full build-out.
Obstetric services and accommodations will also be prominent on opening day with eight labor and delivery rooms, two special c-section operating rooms and more than 25 post-partum rooms. A 12-bed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) will debut shortly after the hospital opens.
Hospital leaders say every new hire brings them one step closer to expanding healthcare access for Polk County. The hospital will continue to recruit for positions across clinical, support and administrative departments ahead of its opening next month.