Indian River County Healthcare Guide: Hospital, Health Department and Low Cost Care

Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, at 1000 36th Street in Vero Beach, 772.567.4311, is a 332 bed not for profit hospital with emergency services around the clock (Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital).

Cleveland Clinic lists dialysis, imaging and laboratory services at the Vero Beach campus, with hours given by phone, and says parking is free at Indian River Hospital (Cleveland Clinic guest services). The campus has a long local history: the Indian River County Hospital District says the first hospital in the county opened in 1932, that Indian River Memorial Hospital was accredited in 1952 with 35 beds, and that the hospital later known as Indian River Medical Center is now Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital (Hospital District history).

A 1959 special act of the Florida Legislature created the Indian River County Hospital District with a board of trustees that took control of the hospital, and in 1984 they leased it to a community not for profit corporation and set up an Indigent Care Agreement for uninsured Indian River County residents (Hospital District history). The Hospital District guide explains the trustees, the tax rate and the budget.

The Florida Department of Health in Indian River County runs a Main Office at 1900 27th St. in Vero Beach, 772-794-7400, and a Wabasso satellite site at 8445 64th Ave., 772-794-7480 (About DOH-Indian River).

DOH-Indian River lists Family Planning, HIV/AIDS, Infectious Disease Services, Immunizations, School Health and WIC among its clinical services, and most are offered on a sliding fee scale set by income and family size, with the option to pay the full fee (DOH-Indian River clinical services). The department also keeps a nurse on call 24/7 (About DOH-Indian River).

WIC in Indian River County provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding counseling and support, and referrals for health care at no cost to eligible clients, and School Health Services are provided by local school districts in collaboration with DOH-Indian River (Florida Department of Health in Indian River County). The department's contact number is 772-794-7400 (Florida Department of Health in Indian River County).

Onsite sewage disposal (with an online septic search), private well water, public swimming pools and other environmental health programs go through Environmental Public Health at the same 1900 27th St. office, 772-794-7440 (DOH-Indian River Environmental Public Health). DOH-Indian River became involved in Wabasso with its first PACE-EH community environmental health project in 2004 (Wabasso Satellite Location). The Department of Health guide covers the clinics, environmental health permits and the rabies alert.

Uninsured Indian River County residents at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level can get no cost primary care through the Hospital District program, which runs through Treasure Coast Community Health and Whole Family Health Center (Hospital District financial assistance).

To apply, a resident calls Treasure Coast Community Health at (772) 257-8224 and asks for a Health Navigator, or Whole Family Health Center at (772) 345-9342 and asks for an Intake Specialist, then brings the required documents to a meeting that completes the application (Hospital District financial assistance). The program also covers other services at no or reduced cost, including dental and behavioral health care at listed agencies, and the provider list gives Whole Family Health Center at 981 37th Place in Vero Beach (Hospital District financial assistance).

The same locations page says the network has eight centers in Indian River County while listing seven, and posts a notice that the Oslo location is temporarily under construction starting April 6, so a provider's location may have changed (Treasure Coast Community Health locations).

Two details on these pages do not line up. The Hospital District lists Treasure Coast Community Health with locations in Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere (Hospital District financial assistance), but the clinic network's own locations page lists sites in Fellsmere and Vero Beach and none in Sebastian (Treasure Coast Community Health locations). The same District page gives Whole Family Health Center as (772) 345-9342 in its steps and (877) 345-9342 in its provider list.

The Indian River County Hospital District was established by a special act of the 1959 Florida Legislature with a Board of Trustees of seven publicly elected members, which took control of the hospital (Hospital District history).

Since 1984 the District has helped fund care for uninsured residents through an Indigent Care Agreement (Hospital District history). Each trustee is an elected official serving a four year staggered term: four are elected at one general election and three at the next, and the Governor of Florida appoints a replacement when a seat is vacated before its term ends (Hospital District trustees). The District began funding the Fellsmere Medical Center in 1994, the clinic that became Treasure Coast Community Health (Hospital District history).

The District office is at 1705 19th Place, Suite G3, Vero Beach, 772-770-0935. The meeting schedule posted on October 15, 2026 lists the Regular Monthly Meeting on October 15 at 4 p.m. and a Special Meeting on October 22 at 9 a.m., and the November Regular Monthly Meeting falls on November 19 at 4 p.m. (Hospital District meeting schedule). The Hospital District guide sets out the tax rate and budget.

Florida birth certificates are available for births from 1930 to the present and death certificates for deaths from 2009 to the present, and DOH-Indian River takes orders online through VitalChek, by mail or in person (DOH-Indian River certificates).

Marriage certificates can be issued only for Florida marriages after June 6, 1927, and the department asks applicants to contact it for its fees, noting that VitalChek fees may differ from fees charged at the local health department office (DOH-Indian River certificates). Marriage certificates from before June 6, 1927 come from the Clerk of Court in the county where the license was issued (DOH-Indian River certificates).

DOH-Indian River has a rabies alert issued for Indian River County, effective September 24, 2026 through November 24, 2026 (Florida Department of Health in Indian River County).

Animal bites and questions about rabies go to DOH-Indian River at 772-794-7472, the same number listed to report a disease (Florida Department of Health in Indian River County). The Department of Health guide covers the rabies alert in more detail.

Two Indian River County healthcare guides for Sebastian, Vero Beach and Fellsmere residents go deeper: the Department of Health guide for clinics, permits and alerts, and the Hospital District guide for the tax rate, trustees and no cost care.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County and Indian River County Hospital District websites. The Sebastian town guide and the Vero Beach town guide cover local services inside those cities.