BayCare Names Patrick Downes President of New BayCare Hospital Manatee
BayCare Health System has appointed Patrick Downes as president of BayCare Hospital Manatee, the health system’s newest hospital currently under construction in Palmetto and scheduled to open in 2028. The appointment became effective July 5. Downes will continue serving as president of St. Joseph’s Hospital-South in Riverview while leading the development of the new Manatee County facility.
Downes has played a key role in planning and developing BayCare Hospital Manatee while overseeing the continued growth of St. Joseph’s Hospital-South since becoming its president in 2023. BayCare leadership cited his experience managing a hospital in a rapidly expanding community and his involvement in the Manatee project as reasons for the appointment.
The new hospital is being built on Moccasin Wallow Road near the Interstate 75 and Interstate 275 interchange. It is expected to open with 154 private patient rooms and has been designed to expand to 207 beds as demand increases. BayCare Hospital Manatee will be the first hospital located north of the Manatee River and the county’s only not-for-profit hospital.
Hospital services will include obstetrics, neonatal care, cardiology, diagnostic and interventional procedures, surgery, urology, gastroenterology and other specialty care.
Supporting the hospital will be the BayCare HealthHub Manatee, expected to open in 2026. The HealthHub will feature physician offices, outpatient medical services and health and wellness amenities. BayCare Medical Group also established a primary care office in Palmetto in 2023 to expand access to healthcare in the growing area.
During his tenure at St. Joseph’s Hospital-South, Downes has overseen several major expansions, including the addition of an observation unit for short-stay patients, expanded preoperative and post-anesthesia care areas, development of cardiac electrophysiology services and the introduction of robotic technology for orthopedic joint replacement procedures. The hospital has also earned 13 consecutive “A” grades for quality and patient safety from The Leapfrog Group.
Before joining BayCare, Downes held executive leadership positions at hospitals in Florida and South Carolina. He earned both a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Florida State University.
BayCare is a not-for-profit academic health system serving West Central Florida through a network of hospitals, physician practices and outpatient facilities, providing a broad range of medical, behavioral health and pediatric services across the region.
