(This story was revised to correct AdventHealth’s not-for-profit status.)
Bond Clinic, one of Polk County’s oldest medical groups, has been acquired by one of Florida’s largest hospital chains.
AdventHealth has purchased Bond Clinic’s assets and its multiple locations in Polk County, the company announced in a news release. The cost of the purchase was not disclosed.
Founded in 1948, Bond Clinic has more than 90 providers covering 28 specialties, according to its website. The clinic operates from a main campus at 500 E. Central Ave. in Winter Haven.
Bond Clinic also has four other locations in Winter Haven and sites in Davenport and Lakeland.
“We are excited to welcome the providers and team members of Bond Clinic to the AdventHealth network,” Jennifer Snider, president/CEO for AdventHealth Medical Group West Florida Division, said in the news release. “Bond Clinic has a 75-year legacy of personalized, community-based care. Together, we will continue to provide exceptional care to Polk County.”
Bond Clinic’s medical providers and other employees will join the staff of AdventHealth, the release said. AdventHealth, based in Altamonte Springs, employs more than 4,000 doctors and other providers at facilities in nine states. It operates two hospitals in Polk County ― AdventHealth Lake Wales and AdventHealth Heart of Florida in Haines City. It also operates a handful of smaller facilities, including a free-standing emergency room on Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven, with plans to build a larger hospital.
Last year, the chain won approval for a 400-bed hospital off Harden Boulevard in Lakeland, just south of the Polk Parkway.
A not-for-profit organization affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, AdventHealth is the largest Protestant health provider in the country.
“This transition marks a new chapter for Bond Clinic and the communities it serves,” David Ottati, president/CEO of the AdventHealth West Florida Division, said in the release. “We look forward to continuing this legacy of excellence in health care while advancing our mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ.”
In the release, AdventHealth said it is “committed to ensuring a seamless transition and continuity of care for all patients throughout this process.”
It was not clear whether the leadership of Bond Clinic would remain in place. A spokesperson for AdventHealth said July 3 that many executives were unavailable because of the pending holiday.
Bond Clinic was created in 1948 by four physicians – Dr. Benjamin Bond, Dr. Rita Marotti, Dr. T.C. Keramidas and Dr. William T. Steele, according to its website. The group first occupied an office on the corner of Avenue A Northwest and Third Street, above a drugstore.
The group opened a facility on First Street, across from Winter Haven Hospital, in 1954.
Bond Clinic moved to its current main site on Central Avenue in 1978.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: AdventHealth acquires Winter Haven-based Bond Clinic, founded in 1948
Reporting by Gary White, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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