FLEMING ISLAND – Martha Aguayo realized something was wrong when she was awakened by the swooshing sound of air at 2:15 Monday morning.

She looked over at her husband, Gil, and his CPAP was off. The air was still being pushed from the pump to the facemask. The pump had been displaced and his Continous Glucose Monitor no longer was connected.

A Type-1 diabetic for decades, Gil was in trouble.

“I was crashing,” the husband said. “My glucose was dangerously low. I really don’t remember a lot.”

Martha called for an ambulance. They were told they were going to Baptist. But they were surprised when it turned right on U.S. Highway 17 from their Fleming Island home, instead of turning left to make the run across the Buckman Bridge to Interstate 95 and Baptist South in St. Johns County.

After being accepted into the Emergency Department at the new Baptist Medical Center Clay, Gil was taken upstairs to become the first patient in hospital history.

Nearly two years and $175 million in the making, the 300,000-square-foot, six-story, 102-bed hospital opened its doors to patients at 7 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 19. Less than an hour later, Gil was already in the first patient room on the third floor.

“I’m so glad he didn't have to go all the way across the river,” hospital president Darin Roark said. “He was very, very nice. I was very fortunate to have a first patient who, even though he didn't feel good, was willing to let us celebrate him for being the first one. It was super exhilarating to start accepting patients.”

The hospital received its state certification on Friday, Dec. 16, but Roark decided to delay the opening to the original plan of Monday.

The campus along Village Square Parkway now includes Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital, an emergency center, a full-service hospital and Baptist health place, a complex of doctors' offices, classrooms and community wellness programs. The cost of converting the old VyStar building into health place pushed Baptist’s investment into the county to $235 million.

For the Aguayos, it was money well spent.

“At first, (Gil) didn’t want to come to the hospital,” Martha said. “Then his glucose started dropping again. By the time the paramedics got here, he was in trouble. It’s so nice to have a place where you live locally.”

Gil rested comfortably Monday afternoon while the doctors and nurses monitored his glucose. Nurses filled out a poster about Gil, reminding them he has children and great-grandchildren. According to the hospital, it was a way for the staff to know their patients on a more personal level.

“I love that they finally were able to build the hospital on this property,” Gil said. “The staff here is unbelievable. Everybody is so courteous. They work so well together. You don't see that very often. They’re constantly checking on me.”

“Having a full-service hospital nearby eliminates having to travel out of the area to get high-quality medical care,” Roark said. “Now, the community has the high level of patient care they expect from Baptist Health – right here in their own backyard.”

The new hospital also has 20 maternity suites, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unite, advanced heart care, a cancer center and innovative surgical care.

More important to the Aguayos, it’s on this side of the river.