Memorial Hospital Flagler, Inc. (doing business as AdventHealth Palm Coast) is a non-profit hospital campus in Palm Coast, Florida, United States. It became part of AdventHealth following a merger with Memorial Health Systems in May 2000. AdventHealth Palm Coast became the first hospital built in Flagler County and it is also the second largest employer in the county. The medical facility is a tertiary, statutory rural hospital and primary stroke center that has multiple specialties. In late March 2025, AdventHealth Palm Coast was designated an Age-Friendly Emergency Department by the American College of Emergency Physicians, with a Level 3 Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation.
History 1951-1989 In 1951, Dr. John Canakaris' opened Bunnell Medical Clinic with 5 beds. And later the clinic increased the number of beds to 22. In 1960, Bunnell Medical Clinic became Bunnell General Hospital with 60 beds. In 1977, Bunnell Community Hospital with 80 hospital beds was built.
Later Hospital Corporation of America purchased the hospital and renamed it Memorial Hospital-Flagler.
In 1989, a diesel fuel spill occurred at the hospital. Soon after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection ordered Memorial Hospital-Flagler that both of its underground fuel tanks had to be taken off of its property.
2000-2012 In late May 2000, Memorial Health Systems chose to merge with Adventist Health System. It had to be approved by both of the hospital networks boards, and by regulators from Florida and the federal government.
In September 2002, Memorial Hospital-Flagler moved to Palm Coast and was renamed Florida Hospital Flagler. On September 22, Florida Hospital Flagler opened with 81 hospital beds and cost $67 million to build.
In October 2002, the only YMCA in Flagler County opened by renting inside of Florida Hospital Flagler. On May 31, 2011, it closed after losing $50,000 for three consecutive years.
On September 23, 2012, Florida Hospital Flagler celebrated its tenth anniversary being in Palm Coast. In early December, Kangaroo Express donated $110,000 to Florida Hospital Pink Army for its fight against breast cancer. Florida Hospital Flagler received about $37,000 of that money donated.
2013-2019 On August 1, 2013, during a special meeting Flagler County commissioners voted 4-to-1 to purchase the former Memorial Hospital-Flagler for $1.23 million. The reason why the county wanted the former hospital was for a new location for the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. On September 21, the purchase of the former hospital was finalized.
On November 11, 2015, Florida Hospital Flagler announced that it was adding 32 beds and would ask for licenses for 16 current overflow beds. The number of beds would be increased from 99 beds to 147 beds and would add a second story above the emergency department. The expansion will cost $15 million. On February 15, 2016, Florida Hospital Flagler had a groundbreaking for the expansion. The expansion of the hospital was completed in the fall.
In late January 2016, Florida Hospital Flagler announced that it would expand its cancer center by for $4.5 million. On July 11, Florida Hospital Flagler broke ground on the expansion of its cancer center. In early March 2017, the expanded cancer center opened. Florida Hospital Flagler became the first hospital in the area to have the True Beam Radiotherapy System by Varian Medical Systems.
On November 19, 2018, Florida Hospital Flagler announced that it was purchasing from Flagler County for $175,000. It is located by Interstate 95 and Matanzas High School. It planned on building a 12-bed emergency department and a two-story medical office building for a total of $25 million. Later plans for the ER were dropped and AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway was built instead. On January 2, 2019, Florida Hospital Flagler rebranded to AdventHealth Palm Coast.
2021-present On January 1, 2021, all hospitals were required to have their chargemaster on its website by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In early February 2023, almost all of the AdventHealth hospitals had their chargemaster on their website, including AdventHealth Palm Coast.
In September 2021, AdventHealth Palm Coast had a simulation center built by renovating some of its offices. The renovation and the equipment for the simulation center cost a total of $1 million. It opened on April 22, 2022, and is the largest in the AdventHealth Central Florida Division. Its five classrooms will train about 140 AdventHealth nurses each month from Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida.
On July 11, 2023, AdventHealth Palm Coast announced that it would have a new $30 million cancer center built on campus. The , two story building would be built on Florida State Road 100. On October 26, AdventHealth Palm Coast had a groundbreaking for Freytag Health Plaza. On March 19, 2024, there was a topping out of the building. The Freytag Cancer Center started treating patients in mid November and the hospital had a grand opening for the building on January 16, 2025. It was named after a local couple who donated money.
Manhunt On July 28, 2024, a prisoner was taken to AdventHealth Palm Coast for treatment for an injury by the police (the injury was faked by the prisoner), the inmate later escaped from the hospital. This caused AdventHealth Palm Coast to go on lockdown for the safety of its employees and patients. Seven hours later the prisoner was arrested by the police.
Services In early April 2012, it became the first hospital in Florida to offer Third Eye colonoscopy.
Charity giving In early August 2017, Florida Hospital Flagler, donated stationery and medical supplies to the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler County.
Hurricane evacuation On October 5, 2016, Florida Hospital Flagler was evacuated due to Hurricane Matthew, it moved patients by ambulance to other Florida Hospital facilities.
Off campus facilities In July 2011, Florida Hospital Flagler purchased in the Cobblestone Village located by Golden Corral. On September 28, it had a groundbreaking for the Florida Hospital Flagler Medical Plaza. On July 10, 2012, the outpatient clinic opened for $15 million.
On August 2, 2024, AdventHealth Palm Coast purchased for $5.7 million in St. Augustine, Florida, on Florida State Road 207 and northeast of Interstate 95. On March 25, 2025, there was a groundbreaking for a 12-bed emergency department on the site. On July 13, 2026, the AdventHealth Treaty Oaks ER opened for $20 million, it was built by Robins & Morton and designed by HuntonBrady Architects.
Awards and recognitions In late December 2011, Florida Hospital Flagler became the first in Florida to receive the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Award for its electronic health record. The hospital received a grade A from The Leapfrog Group from fall 2013 to spring 2015, it received a grade B in November 2016 and spring 2017. It received a grade A again in fall 2017, 2018, 2019, spring 2020, 2021 and May 2026.
On May 14, 2025, AdventHealth Palm Coast was recognized by Premier in its Small Community Hospital category, and the medical facility also received from Premier its Everest Award. In late July, U.S. News & World Report recognized the medical facility as the third best hospital in the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach metropolitan area. On December 4, AdventHealth Palm Coast was recognized by Forbes in its new Top Hospitals list with a four-star ranking. On May 13, 2026, the medical facility received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services a five-star rating.
See also List of Seventh-day Adventist hospitals List of stroke centers in the United States
References
Further reading
External links
AdventHealth Palm Coast (Palm Coast, FL) Record Searchlight AdventHealth Palm Coast Montgomery Advertiser Florida Hospital Flagler HospitalCompare Florida Hospital Flagler Medicare.gov