The Greater Daytona Region Boasts a Comprehensive Health Care Network
The Greater Daytona Region’s exceptional health care providers offer services for all ages. Beyond direct care, health care is an engine fueling opportunity throughout the region.
In This Article
Top Employers
AdventHealth and Halifax Health are the two largest private-sector employers in Volusia County. Between them, they employ nearly 8,000 people, and hundreds of providers serve as medical staff.
In 2024, AdventHealth Daytona Beach achieved the Great Place to Work certification based on employee feedback. Today, the hospital is undertaking a $220 million construction plan to meet the community’s growing needs. This will add 104 inpatient beds, increasing its total capacity to 466 beds. “Locally, AdventHealth is more than a hospital,” says David Weis, regional president and CEO for East Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties. “By supporting thousands of jobs and stimulating local businesses, it fuels the region’s growth.”
Kim Fulcher, Halifax Health’s senior vice president and chief human resources officer, says the organization provides exceptional service to everyone who comes in its doors.
“Not only for patients, but for our team members,” she says.
Growth in the need for services means the hospital continues to recruit and hire for all roles, whether in direct patient care or in administrative or support positions.
“We work with our long-term partner, Daytona State College, and others to ‘grow our own,’” Fulcher says. “We offer scholarships to people in the community to help them pay for their education and help them get started on their journey. Everything we have, we invest back into the community.”
Higher Education
Several institutions of higher learning create a pipeline of graduates for the area’s health care workforce.
Daytona State College offers a variety of degree and certificate programs in nursing and other health careers, and is the host regional campus for Florida State University’s College of Medicine, where third- and fourth-year medical students train in regional facilities.
Keiser University and Bethune-Cookman University also offer programs to train nurses at all levels, from associate to graduate degrees.
Palmer College of Chiropractic, the world’s first and largest chiropractic college, opened its campus in Port Orange more than 20 years ago, where now more than 1,000 students are enrolled.
“Nearly 20% of all current chiropractic students in the U.S. are enrolled at a Palmer campus,” says Dr. William Sherrier, Palmer Florida Campus president. “And more than one-third of all practicing chiropractors are Palmer graduates.”
The program runs year-round so students can graduate in 10 trimesters. For the last three trimesters, they train in Palmer Chiropractic Clinics, providing care to members of the community while being guided by faculty clinicians.
Manufacturing Hub
Many innovative manufacturers call the area home. B. Braun in Daytona Beach, a global leader in medical device and pharmacy product manufacturing, employs hundreds of locals. The company produces IV therapy products and solutions, smart infusion pumps, and pharmacy and dialysis products.
Also in Daytona Beach, TECHFIT Digital Surgery provides surgical planning, design and manufacturing to help surgeons increase accuracy, reduce time and help achieve life-changing outcomes for patients.
Germfree in Ormond Beach provides end-to-end solutions for pharmacy, biocontainment and biopharma clean-room technologies, with nearly 200 employees at its 173,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.
DaVita Labs in DeLand is one of the largest automated labs in the world, with a 150,000-square-foot campus that includes a distribution center. The company has more than 500 employees providing end stage renal disease lab testing for more than 200,000 patients.
Community Focus
Local nonprofit organizations also work to promote the health and wellness of the community, including the Council on Aging, which provides services for Volusia County’s senior population. For more than 60 years, SMA Healthcare has been the leading behavioral health provider in the area, with a full continuum of comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services.
Food Brings Hope is a nonprofit providing programs and assistance to economically disadvantaged families with children in Volusia County Schools.
Last year, the Community Foundation and United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties invested more than $325,000 in nonprofit agencies working to improve the health of the community.
“Our health investments span a broad spectrum of essential services, including elder care, support for sexual assault victims, primary care, teen mental health and other vital programs,” says Amanda Lasecki, the agency’s vice president of operations. “These initiatives are crucial in ensuring comprehensive care and support for the community.”
Conklin Davis Center Empowers the Visually Impaired in the Greater Daytona Region
The Conklin Davis Center for the Visually Impaired, a nonprofit serving blind and visually impaired individuals, includes a 27,000- square-foot facility on an 8-acre campus in Daytona Beach. The center offers comprehensive programs for all ages.
“Our services enable blind and visually impaired people to gain independence through training in specific skills,” says Mahyar Okhovatian, who is a member of its board of directors.
Starting in infancy, programming supports families with early intervention services to help as children move through developmental stages. Services for older children and teens include field trips, opportunities for socialization, and experiences related to community and employment – all designed to equip participants for success.
Okhovatian says one of the center’s teachers received services as an infant through childhood, and attended college before returning as a teacher.
For adults seeking employment, the center provides job readiness training, assistance with job searches and job coaching.
“We have established relationships with many local employers,” Okhovatian says. “Through these, we are able to help our clients obtain work experiences in a business, and often these turn into permanent employment.”
Okhovatian says the center’s senior program serves more than 400 older adults each year. Independent living training includes cooking classes and home management.
“Some of our seniors also learn to use computers or iPads,” Okhovatian says, “and are so happy to be able to use email in order to communicate with children and grandchildren.”
The center’s residential program serves blind individuals who also have another significant disability, providing training so they can secure employment and prepare for independent living.
“We have over 80 blind individuals living in the Daytona Beach area in their own apartments and working,” Okhovatian says.
The program, he says, has a far-reaching impact on the community. Blind residents have the ability to become contributing members of their community.
“Blind people are like everyone else,” Okhovatian says. “They have the same hopes and dreams.”