Fort Lauderdale Healthcare Guide: Hospitals and Public Health

Three acute care hospitals carry a Fort Lauderdale address in the federal CMS hospital file: Broward Health Medical Center, Broward Health Imperial Point and Holy Cross Hospital (CMS Hospital General Information).

Broward Health Medical Center sits at 1600 S Andrews Ave, south of downtown Fort Lauderdale, and CMS classes its ownership as Government, Hospital District or Authority (CMS). Broward Health calls it Fort Lauderdale's largest hospital, with 606 beds (Broward Health). Broward Health Imperial Point is at 6401 N Federal Hwy and also carries the hospital district ownership code (CMS); Broward Health describes it as a 204-bed hospital and outpatient center serving North Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach (Broward Health Imperial Point). Holy Cross Hospital is at 4725 N Federal Hwy, and CMS lists it as a voluntary non-profit hospital with church ownership (CMS).

Table sources: addresses, ownership and the emergency services field from the CMS file (CMS); phones from Broward Health (Broward Health locations) and Holy Cross (Holy Cross Health). Across all of Broward County, the same CMS file lists 18 hospitals, so most hospitals that serve Fort Lauderdale neighbors sit in other Broward cities such as Hollywood, Plantation, Deerfield Beach and Coral Springs (CMS).

The trauma center for Fort Lauderdale is Broward Health Medical Center, south of downtown, which Broward Health describes as a Level I trauma center with an emergency department open 24 hours a day, seven days a week (Broward Health Medical Center).

Broward Health lists a trauma center for adult and pediatric patients among the Broward Health Medical Center services, and it says free parking is available in designated lots near the hospital entrance, with valet parking offered as well (Broward Health). For North Fort Lauderdale, Broward Health says the emergency department at Broward Health Imperial Point is also open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with free parking on campus near the main entrance at 6401 N Federal Highway (Broward Health Imperial Point). Holy Cross Hospital on N. Federal Highway carries an emergency services value of Yes in the CMS file (CMS).

Two official listings disagree about Imperial Point. The CMS Hospital General Information file shows its emergency services field as No, while the Broward Health page for the same Fort Lauderdale campus says its emergency room is open around the clock (CMS) (Broward Health). Digital Towns reports both and does not resolve the difference; the hospital itself at 954-776-8500 is the place to confirm before a planned visit, and anyone in an emergency should call 911.

Broward Health also lists two freestanding emergency departments in neighboring cities: the Lighthouse Point ER at 5360 N. Federal Hwy, which is part of Broward Health North, and the Sunrise ER at 9001 W. Oakland Park Blvd, which is part of Broward Health Medical Center (Broward Health locations).

The two public hospitals in Fort Lauderdale belong to Broward Health, which calls itself one of the 10 largest public healthcare systems in the United States, and CMS codes both campuses as Government, Hospital District or Authority (Broward Health) (CMS).

Broward Health dates itself to 1938 and keeps its headquarters in Fort Lauderdale (Broward Health). Beyond the S. Andrews Avenue and Imperial Point campuses, its hospital list adds Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach and Broward Health Coral Springs, for four hospitals in all (Broward Health locations). The system's staffing, budget and employer role are covered in the Fort Lauderdale healthcare industry guide rather than repeated here.

South of the city, a second public system operates. Memorial Healthcare System says it has served South Florida since its inception in 1953 and is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the nation (Memorial Healthcare System). Broward Health's release on the two systems' partnership quotes the chairman of the North Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners and the chair of the South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners, and speaks of the support of the two districts (Broward Health). Memorial's two largest campuses, Memorial Regional Hospital and Memorial Regional Hospital South, are both in Hollywood (Memorial).

Broward Health and Memorial unveiled a joint program on February 13, 2025. Called Better Together, it was announced from Fort Lauderdale with a planned April 2025 website and countywide phone line to route adults to primary and maternity care near home, plus mobile units visiting churches, community centers and underserved zip codes (Broward Health). The release sets launch targets but carries no later progress report, so its October 2026 status is best checked with either system directly.

Holy Cross Hospital sits outside both districts. Holy Cross Health says its main campus at 4725 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale is supplemented by outpatient facilities across Broward County, including Holy Cross Urgent Care Centers (Holy Cross Health).

Emergency medical response in Fort Lauderdale comes from Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, which lists Emergency Medical and Rescue Services among its units, operates 12 fire stations and responds to more than 55,000 calls for service each year (City of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue).

Its coverage area takes in three places: the City of Fort Lauderdale, the City of Wilton Manors and the Town of Lazy Lake (City of Fort Lauderdale). The city describes the department as among the busiest municipal fire rescue departments in Broward County (City of Fort Lauderdale). Under closest unit response, the department works with neighboring agencies so the nearest appropriate unit is sent (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The department also lists a Mobile Integrated Healthcare program and Ocean Rescue among its units, and it posts active calls on a public Community Dashboard (City of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue). Its administrative line is 954-828-6800; emergencies go to 911 (City of Fort Lauderdale). The department pages also carry a Pay Medical Transport Bill link and an EMS Medical Records Requests page (City of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue).

On the sand, the first responders are Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue lifeguards, part of the same department. The city says Ocean Rescue covers approximately three miles of public beach, from the South Beach Picnic Area north to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, from 20 lifeguard towers (City of Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue). Guards are posted every day of the year, from 9:45 AM to 7:00 PM in spring and summer and 9:15 AM to 6:00 PM in fall and winter, and the Fort Lauderdale Beach conditions hotline is 954-828-4597 (City of Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue). The city adds that most water-related incidents occur in unguarded areas and tells swimmers to stay near a lifeguard tower, so a swim after 7:00 PM in spring and summer, or after 6:00 PM in fall and winter, is a swim outside the posted coverage hours (City of Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue).

Public health services and birth certificates for Fort Lauderdale are handled by the Florida Department of Health in Broward County, known as DOH-Broward, whose main line is 954-467-4700 (DOH-Broward).

DOH-Broward says Florida birth certificates from 1930 to the present are issued through the Bureau of Vital Statistics at the Department of Health, and orders may be placed online through VitalChek, by mail or in person at the Department of Health in Broward County (DOH-Broward). Certificates can also be obtained by calling 954-467-4413 (DOH-Broward). The Broward office also runs WIC, the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children, and keeps a separate line, 954-213-0710, for reporting a disease (DOH-Broward).

A practical point for Fort Lauderdale residents: DOH-Broward posts its office closures on its home page, and in October 2026 that page carried a notice closing all Department of Health offices in Broward County on set dates in honor of the country's 250th birthday, so checking that page before driving to an office avoids a wasted trip (DOH-Broward).

Broward Health runs several outpatient sites inside Fort Lauderdale besides its two hospitals, from a care center on West Broward Boulevard to a children's diagnostic center on South Federal Highway (Broward Health locations).

The Broward Health locations page lists a care center at 1101 W. Broward Blvd (954-527-6041), the Children's Diagnostic & Treatment Center at 1401 S. Federal Hwy (954-728-8080) and the East Imaging Center at 1601 S. Andrews Ave #118 (954-320-2618) (Broward Health locations). An infusion center at Imperial Point, 6401 N. Federal Hwy, is a department of Broward Health Medical Center and shares the 954-759-7510 line with the system's other infusion sites (Broward Health locations).

Broward Health Imperial Point also lists a fitness center open Monday and Wednesday from 7 AM to 7 PM and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 7 AM to 6 PM, with memberships starting at $40 a month (Broward Health Imperial Point). Jobs, employers and the size of the healthcare workforce are covered in the Fort Lauderdale healthcare industry guide in the industries section of Digital Towns, the only deeper healthcare guide for the city so far.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the CMS Hospital General Information file, the City of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue page and the Broward Health, Holy Cross, Memorial and DOH-Broward websites.