Baptist Health Care and Brasfield & Gorrie Welcome Area Welding Students to New Campus

11/15/2021

Two dozen welding students from Northwest Florida State College toured the new Baptist Health Care campus construction at I-110 and Brent Lane on Nov. 10.

Baptist Health Care and general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie extended the special invitation with the purpose of encouraging the students’ interest in the construction field. Students were granted an up-close view of the way specific trade skills such as welding are put to work in a project of this size that will impact the community for generations to come. The new 57-acre Baptist Health Care campus includes a 10-story 602,000-square-foot flagship hospital, the six-floor 178,000-square-foot Bear Family Foundation Health Center and a freestanding behavioral health unit. At $636 million, the project is the single largest investment in health care facilities, services and programs in Northwest Florida history.

From the beginning of the project, Baptist Health Care has prioritized the hiring of a local and minority workforce. To date, of the 454 workers on site, 179 (39%) live within 25 miles, and 183 (40%) are minority. So far, the project has generated $3.9 million in construction wages in the local economy. Outreach efforts to bring local and minority skilled workers to the project have been ongoing. Such efforts include a job fair at the construction site (245 Brent Lane, Pensacola 32503) on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to recruit workers in electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, mechanical and skilled carpentry.

For more information about the new Baptist Health Care campus, please visit ebaptisthealthcare.org.