Memorial Healthcare System has proposed building a free-standing emergency department in Hallandale Beach, a project that would give the city its first stand-alone ER. The facility would mark the fourth free-standing emergency department for the South Florida hospital system, extending a building spree that has already reshaped emergency care access across Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
News of the Hallandale Beach plans was first reported by the South Florida Business Journal, which noted the proposed facility would be Memorial's fourth free-standing emergency department. Specific details about the Hallandale Beach site, including its size, cost, construction timeline and whether any permits have been approved, were not included in that reporting.
Part of a Broader Expansion Across the District
Memorial's push into Hallandale Beach follows a pair of projects already underway in Miramar and Pembroke Pines. According to Memorial Healthcare System, those two free-standing emergency departments carry an estimated combined construction cost of $61.8 million and are expected to boost the system's emergency-care capacity by more than 30,000 visits annually.
The Miramar project alone is valued at $34.8 million and is expected to create 60 full-time clinical and administrative jobs, the health system has said. Memorial broke ground on that facility, located at Miramar Parkway and Red Road, with plans for a 16,800-square-foot emergency department serving both adults and children. The system has said it expects the Miramar ER to be completed by summer or early fall this year.
Local coverage from Miramar FL News reported the Red Road facility was scheduled to open the week of June 8. Memorial projects the Miramar site alone will serve more than 32,850 individuals annually, while the Douglas Road facility is expected to serve approximately 55,000. That outlet also noted Memorial plans to build more free-standing emergency departments as the Miramar population continues to grow.
Replacing an Aging Care Center in Pembroke Pines
In Pembroke Pines, Memorial Hospital Pembroke plans to replace its existing 24/7 Care Center with a new emergency department on Douglas Road. The Miami Herald reported the project is part of a broader effort to build more free-standing emergency departments across South Florida, and that it is expected to reduce wait times and improve convenience for patients.
Memorial has framed the expansion as an effort to meet patients where they live. The goal, the health system has said, is to create more access points throughout the district and provide care closer to patients' neighborhoods. Officials have also said the new emergency rooms are intended to relieve pressure and improve wait times at Memorial West in Pembroke Pines.
A Regionwide Building Boom
Memorial is far from alone in the rush to open stand-alone ERs. As of January 2025, about 30 free-standing emergency rooms had opened, were under construction or were planned across Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The newspaper reported that almost every major health system in Florida had built at least one free-standing ER or had one underway.
Baptist Health operates three free-standing emergency departments in South Florida and has three more under construction, plus one planned in Pembroke Pines, per the same report. Those facilities, like Memorial's, are required to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and must treat all patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Other systems have been moving just as fast. CBS News Miami reported that Broward Health broke ground on a free-standing emergency department in Sunrise and has planned another in Lighthouse Point, while Holy Cross Health began constructing one in Deerfield Beach. Baptist Health celebrated a ribbon-cutting for a free-standing emergency room in West Boca, and HCA Health has said it is planning a center in Boca Raton for this year after opening centers in Kendall and Aventura, with another planned in Homestead.
Meeting State Building Standards
Any free-standing emergency department built in Florida must clear specific state design requirements before it can open its doors. Guidance from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration states that an off-site emergency department must meet all of the physical-plant requirements of an onsite emergency department under state building code provisions, along with design guidelines for free-standing emergency care facilities.
For now, the project adds one more entry to a list of stand-alone ERs sprouting across South Florida as hospital systems race to put emergency care closer to where patients live.
