People are moving to Florida in droves.
The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research predicts a growth rate of 1.29% between April 1, 2022 and April 1, 2027.
To frame this for Volusians, the US Census projects a population growth rate of 1.27% for the county in 2022. In other words, Volusia’s population is growing at the same rate as the state.
It also means an increase in demand for goods and services, including an influx of health clinics.
Cary B. Willis, director of communications for Conviva Care Center, explained the appeal of Volusia County.
“Volusia has a vibrant and growing seniors community,” Mr. Willis said.
Conviva’s model of care, which encompasses the unconventional aspects of healthcare, “definitely resonates here,” he said in an email.
Conviva officials particularly like Port Orange. In February, they opened a 10,480 square foot care center in Port Orange Plaza and have another care center under construction on Clyde Morris Boulevard.
It also has clinics in Daytona Beach, DeLand, New Smyrna Beach, Orange City and Ormond Beach.
Conviva isn’t the only healthcare provider to have taken a liking to Port Orange. Earlier this year, Halifax Health ExpressCare opened on Williamson Boulevard across from the Port Orange Pavilion. They position their services between the need for primary and emergency care.
Less than a mile from Halifax Health ExpressCare is the 18,400 square foot AdventHealth Port Orange ER. When it opened, Dr. Dennis Hernandez, CEO of AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach, said they wanted to enter Port Orange because they saw it “growing by leaps and bounds.”
Having already saturated the area with CentraCare urgent care centers, AdventHealth is also opening general care facilities.
Another company that has opened multiple facilities is Complete Health with two in Ormond Beach and DeLand, and one in Edgewater, Orange City and South Daytona. Additionally, last summer Daytona Beach Shores hosted a Halifax Health ExpressCare on Atlantic Avenue.
If your city can’t claim to have recently welcomed a new health care provider like Port Orange and Daytona Beach Shores, it might be actively seeking one.
Patty Rippey, South Daytona’s Director of Redevelopment, confirmed in an email response, “We have not received any health clinics in the City of South Daytona,” since January 2021, “But (we) hope to attract some one in the near future. ”
The Florida Bureau of Economic and Population Research’s growth rate projection in raw numbers is 294,756 people per year. That’s the equivalent of a city the size of Orlando moving across the state every year for the next five years.
With Volusia County’s population growth keeping pace with the state as a whole, the increase in demand for healthcare clinics doesn’t appear to be abating any time soon.