A heart attack no longer means a race across the county line for east Pasco County residents — BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel can now perform emergency cardiac procedures once available only in Tampa.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration designated the hospital as a Level 1 adult cardiovascular services provider, effective July 1. The license allows the hospital's team of interventional cardiologists, nurses and technicians to perform cardiac catheterization and stent placement around the clock, on both a routine and emergency basis.
Nanette Wilcox, identified as hospital president in a July 14 statement published by The Laker/Lutz News, confirmed the designation represents a significant expansion of the facility's capabilities.
State Requirements for Round-the-Clock Cardiac Care
A Level 1 designation under Florida law requires a hospital to have performed at least 300 diagnostic cardiac catheterizations in the prior 12 months and to maintain staffing 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, according to state statute. The hospital must also keep a written transfer agreement with a Level 2 facility guaranteeing patient transfer within 60 minutes.
For Wesley Chapel residents, the impact is immediate: someone experiencing chest pain or a cardiac emergency no longer has to be rushed across the county line for advanced interventional treatment. That care is now available locally, at 4501 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., just south of State Road 54.
Patients who need open-heart surgery will still be transferred to BayCare's Heart and Vascular Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, which holds the Society of Thoracic Surgery's highest three-star rating.
Wesley Chapel Hospital Expands Services as Pasco Booms
BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel opened in March 2023 after a $246 million investment. The 86-bed, 318,000-square-foot facility is BayCare's 16th hospital and its 11th to offer advanced adult cardiac services.
The expansion comes as Pasco County's population continues to surge. The county added 18,300 residents between 2024 and 2025, the 16th-largest gain of any U.S. county, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by USAFacts. Pasco's population grew 36.2% over the decade ending in 2025.
Hope Kennedy, president and CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, told Bay News 9 in October that the county was already at 650,000 residents and headed toward a million.
The cardiac designation is the latest clinical expansion at the Wesley Chapel campus since it opened three years ago. BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel is located at 4501 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. For more information, residents can visit BayCare.org.
