Sanford, FL – May 23, 2016 – It was a festive atmosphere as employees of Osceola County schools gathered together with their families, school board members, representatives of Florida Hospital, and Wharton-Smith last week to cut the ribbon and celebrate the grand opening of the Center for Employee Health. Built in partnership with Florida Hospital, the new 15,456-square-foot medical center provides primary care services, including urgent care, pediatrics, occupational medicine, preventive medicine, and physical therapy to the more than 7,000 school district employees and their families.

Ricky Booth, Vice Chairman of the School District of Osceola County opened the ceremony emphasizing the value that the district places on their employees and their health and wellness. “This Center is part of an effort to change the way our employees, their families, and retirees get and pay for healthcare,” he said. He thanked his fellow board members, partners at Florida Hospital, and the taxpayers for committing to the vision of the Center and supporting the district’s goal of promoting wellness.

Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace reiterated his message by applauding the school board for having the vision to create this opportunity for all of the district’s employees. “Today we are truly seeing a dream turn into a reality,” she remarked. This new Center puts an emphasis on wellness that will create a better quality of life for our employees and their families,” she added.

Since its soft opening three weeks ago, the Center has seen an influx of employees taking advantage of the services available, more than 250 in the last week alone according to representatives from Florida Hospital.

“We are excited and proud to have been a part of supporting this effort to create healthier families throughout Osceola County, said Rick Bundy, Project Executive for Wharton-Smith. We are a community focused company and being involved with projects like this is part of who we are,” he added.

Wharton-Smith provided construction management services for the project under its current continuing services contract.