Florida Sanitarium
| Florida Sanitarium | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Opened | 1908 |
| Demolished | 1980s |
| Current Status | Demolished (original buildings) |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Orlando, FL |
| Alternate Names |
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History
Florida Sanitarium opened in 1908 in an old farmhouse on a wooded campus between lakes Estelle and Winyah in what was then called the community of Formosa. It is now the College Park section of Orlando. The most popular hospital treatment at the turn of the century called for lots of rest, sunshine, fresh air, nutritious food, mild exercise and the so-called ”water cure.” This was the regimen prescribed for victims of tuberculosis, and physicians used it for a variety of other ills they didn’t know how to treat. Until the 1940s, it was the basis for most care at the institution that became Florida Hospital.
In 1912, a concrete block building was erected across the lawn from the original frame structure. A third story was added to the original building in 1918, bringing the hospital’s capacity to 60 beds. The facility looked more like a hotel than a hospital. The lobby had a hardwood floor and contemporary furniture. Porches extended all the way around the building on all floors, giving patients access to the outdoors from their rooms. In 1925, a new wing was completed to connect the farmhouse to the block building… The hospital began to modernize both its care and its facilities during the 1940s. The new unit housed the operating room, nursery and rooms for 20 patients, with the latest and finest equipment.
The sanitarium-style cure was replaced by more modern medicines and diagnostic and surgical procedures. New buildings that more resembled modern hospitals began to go up. After that, modernization came quickly in 1970, the hospital finally shed the outdated ”sanitarium” from its name and became Florida Hospital Orlando. In October 2005, the hospital had a groundbreaking for a fifteen-story tower and it topped off one month later.[15] The tower was being built for $260 million, it would open with 200 patient rooms and later expand to 440.
