Tour shows state of Jackson Memorial Hospital

Hospital officials say it needs upgrades, repairs

MIAMI – As Miami-Dade's safety-net hospital, Memorial Jackson Hospital delivers some of the best medical care in Florida and the country, but some of its medical equipment is obsolete and some of its physical plant has deteriorated.

The hospital conducted a tour of its facilities Wednesday.

"There's no doubt that having private patients allows us to support our public mission, and this makes us competitive and more so," said neurosurgeon Dr. Barth Green.

A heat exchanger that provides sterile, hot water to surgical areas dates back to the 1950s. Water from it leaked on the floor.

"There's some floor drains that we use but, as you can see, some of these systems are rusted and dated and well beyond replacement and repair," said Jackson Capital Projects Manager David Clark.

Voters will be asked to approve a $830 million bond issue for the hospital on Nov. 5, which includes:

  • $130 million to install electronic medical records.
  • $65 million to rebuild aging operating rooms and emergency rooms.
  • $40 million for new urgent care centers around the county
  • $70 million for a new rehabilitation hospital.

"When I came here in 1975, we had a rehabilitation center that's still the same today, and even though the staff -- the Allied Health professionals and physicians and nurses are spectacular -- the facility is way outdated," said Green.

Read: Jackson bond fact sheet

The Jackson bond would cost the average homeowner an additional $6.20 in the first year and $30.99 at the peak.

There's no organized opposition to the bond issue, but Jackson does have a well-organized group of community leaders who've donated more than $1 million to support the bond issue.

The cost of the bond for the average homeowner has been corrected. We apologize for the error.