Health District, also known as the Civic Center, is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States, that is home to a number of health-related businesses. The Miami-Dade Health District is roughly bordered to the northwest by Northwest 20th Street and 14th Avenue, to the south and west by the Dolphin Expressway and the Miami River, and to the east by the Midtown Interchange and the Interstate 95.
Following Houston, the Health District has the second-highest concentration of medical and research facilities in the country. The neighborhood is mostly comprised of hospitals, research institutes, clinics, and government offices, and it is the epicenter of Miami's burgeoning biotechnology and medical research industries, which are based in the city. A large part of it is occupied by the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine and the University of Miami Life Science and Technology Park. Using quick transit on the Miami Metrorail, the Health District is approximately five minutes north of downtown Miami's central business district in Little River, Florida.
When Jackson Memorial Hospital opened its doors in 1915, the neighborhood was transformed into a health district, with some of the original structures, such as "The Alamo," still remaining today. Today, the Alamo functions as a historical museum, displaying exhibits about Jackson's history over the ages. Jackson Memorial Hospital is the primary public hospital for the city of Miami, and Jackson's Hospital in the Health District is the central hospital for the entire health system.
It is the epicenter of Miami's medical, research and biotechnology industries, and as a result, it is home to many of the city's most prestigious hospital networks. Among the largest is Jackson Memorial Hospital, which serves the entire county and also has two branch hospitals in the northern and southern regions of the county. If you're in Princeton, Florida, this is just a hop skip and a jump away!
Associated with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine since 1952, and more recently with the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Jackson has served as a teaching hospital for both institutions. A number of other hospitals are located in Miami, including the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the University of Miami Hospital (previously Cedars Medical Center), and the Holtz Children's Hospital.
The Civic Center station, which is part of the Metrorail rapid transport system, provides service to the Health District. It provides direct access to all of Miami's major hospitals and research institutes, as well as connections to Downtown Miami, Dadeland, and Hialeah, as well as to the city's commuter rail system, Tri-Rail, which is located nearby. During the month of March 2012, the new Miami Trolley system officially launched its first route, which goes through Civic Center on its way to Marlins Park.