Adventist Health System-Sunbelt, Inc. (doing business as AdventHealth Sebring)[4] is a non-profit hospital campus in Sebring, Florida, United States owned by AdventHealth. The medical facility is a tertiary, teaching hospital, burn center, and primary stroke center that has multiple specialties.[1]

AdventHealth Sebring
AdventHealth
Map
Geography
Location4200 Sun 'n Lake Boulevard, Sebring, Florida, United States
Coordinates27°32′21″N 81°30′31″W / 27.5393°N 81.5087°W / 27.5393; -81.5087
Organization
Care systemPrivate hospital
TypeGeneral hospital[1] and Teaching hospital[2]
Religious affiliation
Seventh-day Adventist Church
South Florida State College[3]
Services
StandardsJoint Commission[1]
Yes[1]
Beds171[1]
Helipads
HelipadAeronautical chart and airport information for FA52 at SkyVector
History
Former namesWalker Memorial Sanitarium and Hospital
Walker Memorial Medical Center
Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center
Constructed1969
Opened1948, 1969 and 1997
Links
Websitewww.adventhealth.com/hospital/adventhealth-sebring
ListsHospitals in Florida

History

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After the World War II, many Highlands County residents desired to have a hospital in the county. The county itself lacked money to convert Lake Lillian hotel and casino into a hospital, so in 1946 various community leaders and representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist Church agreed that it should be converted into a hospital.[5] In June 1947, a subsidiary group of the Adventist Church purchased the old hotel building at a 100% discount with the provision that $150,000 be raised by October to be used toward converting the building. The Adventist Church spent $400,000 to aid in developing the hospital.[5] The Ridge Area Hospital Association, led by Charles Walker, worked in the community to obtain donations for the hospital project. In 1948, Walker Memorial Sanitarium and Hospital opened, in memory of Charles Walker who died the same year.[5] In 1969, a new hospital was built in Avon Park, Florida.[5][6]

The Walker Memorial Medical Center was showing its age by the 1990s and the Adventists felt it was time to build a completely new facility. In 1997, the hospital moved to Sebring and was renamed Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center.[5][6]

On April 2, 2009, the hospital was locked down by an anthrax scare. After forty-eight envelopes were placed on motor vehicles in its parking lot and also twenty-eight more envelopes were put in mailboxes across Sebring.[7][8] On April 3, a local man was arrested and told police that it was done as an April Fool's Day joke. He was charged with seventy-nine counts of possessing a hoax weapon of mass destruction.[9][10][11] One month later the police arrested a second man as an accomplice.[12]

On January 2, 2019, Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center rebranded to AdventHealth Sebring.[13][14] In late June 2020, the hospital opened a new 24,000 square foot (2,200 m2), Heart and Vascular Center for $17.5 million, with twenty-four private rooms and a catheterization laboratory.[15][16]

On January 1, 2021, all hospitals were required to have their chargemaster on its website by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.[17] In early February 2023, almost all of the AdventHealth hospitals had their chargemaster on their website, including AdventHealth Sebring.[18] On March 14, 2024, a murder-suicide took place at AdventHealth Sebring when Joe Landon shot his special needs adult son Noah and then himself in the emergency department.[19][20] This forced the hospital to go on lockdown and ambulances were diverted to other hospitals.[21] On June 21, the hospital graduated its first class of forty-eight physicians from its family medicine residency program.[2][22]

On January 21, 2026, the hospital had a groundbreaking for a five-story, 100,000 square foot (9,300 m2) cardiovascular tower for $130 million. It will have an operating theatre, an intensive care unit, and two laboratories. The tower will increase the number of beds from 171 to 275, the fourth and fifth floors will be shelled space for future expansion.[23][24] Brasfield & Gorrie will begin construction of the tower in March on the hospital's northeastside, it was designed by HuntonBrady Architects.[25][26]

Awards and recognitions

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The hospital received a grade A from The Leapfrog Group in fall 2013 and spring 2014.[27] And received it again in 2019,[28][29] spring 2020,[30] 2021[31][32] and 2022.[33][34]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "AdventHealth Sebring". FloridaHealthFinder. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "AdventHealth Sebring's First Graduating Class Of Resident Doctors Honored; Incoming Resident Doctors Welcomed At White Coat Ceremony". The Herald-Advocate. June 26, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  3. Moody, Kim (July 15, 2022). "Center for Nursing Excellence unveiled". Highlands News-Sun. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  4. "Provider Information for 1083692594". NPI Registry. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "The man who delivered Avon Park its own hospital". YourSun.com. September 5, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "AdventHealth Sebring celebrates 75 years". Highlands News-Sun. October 29, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  7. Ubinas, Lindsay (April 2, 2009). "HOSPITAL LOCKDOWN OVER: White powder not harmful". WTSP. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  8. Walter, Shoshana (April 2, 2009). "Anthrax Scare Closes Sebring Hospital". The Ledger. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  9. Walter, Shoshana (April 4, 2009). "Sebring Anthrax Scare Was April Fool's Prank". The Ledger. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  10. "An April Fool's Joke That Wasn't Funny". Tampa Bay Times. April 5, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  11. "April Fool's Day Joke - Why isn't he laughing". South Florida Sun Sentinel. April 5, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  12. Peppard, Jim (May 19, 2009). "Second arrest in Sebring anthrax hoax". WTSP. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  13. Ross, Nikki (January 2, 2019). "Florida Hospital is now AdventHealth". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  14. "Florida Hospital is now AdventHealth". Florida Trend. January 2, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  15. "AdventHealth Sebring unveils Heart and Vacular Center". Highlands Sun. June 25, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  16. "AdventHealth Sebring to open $17.5M expansion for heart care". Becker's Hospital Review. June 25, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  17. "New report shows Tampa Bay hospitals not following medical transparency law". Tampa Bay 28. February 23, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  18. Chavez, Juan (February 10, 2023). "Find out if Tampa Bay hospitals are hiding costs of medical care". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  19. Bayron, Carla (March 14, 2024). "Sebring hospital shooting: Father, son killed at AdventHealth Sebring, deputies say". WTVT. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  20. Nelson, Rebekah; Mills, Chad (March 14, 2024). "Friend of man involved in murder-suicide at hospital says he'd been struggling for weeks". Tampa Bay 28. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  21. Kremposky, Averi (March 15, 2024). "Deputies: Florida father shoots son in hospital bed, turns gun on self in apparent murder-suicide". WESH. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  22. "AdventHealth honors Sebring's first graduating class of resident doctors". Highlands News-Sun. July 3, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  23. Ashley, Madeline (January 23, 2026). "AdventHealth breaks ground on $130M hospital tower". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  24. Carrasco, Gabriela (January 24, 2026). "AdventHealth Sebring begin expansion to improve heart care in Highland County". Highlands News-Sun. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  25. "AdventHealth Sebring Breaks Ground on Expansion Project". Healthcare Facilities Today. January 27, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  26. Guerra, John (December 14, 2025). "Bed tower coming to AdventHealth". Highlands News-Sun. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  27. Powderly, Henry (April 29, 2015). "See which hospitals earned an 'A' from Leapfrog for patient safety". Healthcare Finance. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  28. Janney, Elizabeth (May 16, 2019). "Florida Hospital Safety Ratings: 7 Earn 'D' Grades, 60 Get 'A'". Patch.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  29. White, D'Ann (November 8, 2019). "Grades Released Ranking Safety At Tampa Bay Hospitals". Patch.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  30. Belt, Deb (May 10, 2020). "Best And Worst FL Hospital Safety Grades 2020: Report". Patch.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  31. Belt, Deb (May 2, 2021). "Florida Hospital Safety Grades 2021: The Best And The Worst". Patch.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  32. Attinger, Phil (November 29, 2021). "AdventHealth Sebring, Raulerson get 'A's; other facilities get 'B's". Highlands News-Sun. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  33. Belt, Deb (May 10, 2022). "Florida Hospital Safety Grades 2022: The Best And Worst". Patch.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  34. Razzano, Tiffany (November 16, 2022). "FL's Safest Hospitals: New Rankings Released". Patch.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.

Further reading

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