SoLé Mia, UHealth’s newest development and largest ambulatory center in North Miami, opened for patients on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The property is a 184-acre development with outpatient care, residential spaces, restaurants and stores.
SoLé Mia features a collaboration between UHealth Orthopedics and the Hospital for Special Surgery. HSS has been ranked the No.1 orthopedic hospital in the U.S. for 16 years in a row.
The ambulatory center is for outpatient operations only, meaning that patients can stay up to 23 hours before being discharged. Specialists from all of UHealth’s top-ranked services are providing care at SoLé Mia, including those from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The clinical building itself is seven stories tall with an adjacent parking garage, 110 exam rooms, 10 operating rooms and 33 clinical units designed for cancer treatment. It is the first UHealth building to integrate artificial intelligence into its design. Artificial intelligence, including ambient listening, will reduce administrative work and improve operational efficiency so that doctors can spend more time with patients.
Dr. Joseph Pizzolato, an oncologist at the Sylvester Comprehensive Care Center, is excited for SoLé Mia to bring a positive health care experience to his community.
“With the opening of Lennar in Coral Gables in 2016, we began to see what was possible in healthcare,” he said. “The feeling of cold waiting rooms, endless wait times and the need to travel all over the county for appointments to see the best doctors vanished upon entering the building.”
Dr. Pizzolato said that SoLé Mia is the newest, most advanced version of this vision.
“With SoLé Mia, we are bringing true, world-class care to the North Dade and Miami Beach area,” he said. “As I have served this area for over 21 years, I’m excited for the community to truly experience this and put an end to the negative stigmata of healthcare.”
The artwork in the building is very intentional, helping to eliminate the sterile feeling in many hospitals. The bottom floor starts with art representing dusk and the top floor mimics the sunrise.
“The Colors of Sound” painting by Nicolle Cure, a former UHealth patient who experienced sudden hearing loss in 2017, hangs on the audiology floor.
UHealth SoLé Mia’s opening has created 650 new jobs in addition to new spots for physicians rotating between UHealth locations. This location is purely a clinical enterprise and is not intended for research or student research. Developers invested more than $1.2 billion into the community, which includes UHealth and other properties.
Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez, a thoracic oncologist at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, is most excited about SoLé Mia’s technology and new programs.
“After 17 years of serving this community, I’ve seen firsthand the lack of access to cutting-edge research, top multidisciplinary care and opportunities for true community engagement. The new UHealth Sole Mia changes that,” said Dr. Rodriguez. “For the first time, patients can receive world-class care, take part in groundbreaking research and connect with wellness programs — all under one roof, close to home.”
This opening comes just less than a year after UHealth Doral opened, showing the expanding presence of UHealth and its contribution to the local economy and job market.
According to Dr. Gilberto de Lima Lopes Jr., associate director for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, “UHealth represents a little more than 60% of UM’s operational revenue.”
Dr. Lopes feels that expanding into the North Miami and Aventura areas is going to improve access to care.
“This offers new referral channels, easier access to patients, and possibly alleviation of pressure on central facilities,” he said.
While patients will not be able to stay overnight, patients can visit SoLé Mia for consultations, laboratory tests, X-rays and follow up visits. There are no in-patient beds, so patients would need to choose a different UHealth location if they require hospitalization.