UHealth opens a new AI-focused medical center in North Miami-Dade. What to expect
A long-awaited UHealth medical center that opened this week in North Miami-Dade is infused with AI tools that leaders say will help improve the patient experience as the health system seeks to bring care closer to where people live.
“AI permeates every aspect of a patient and doctor experience here, from the scheduling to the insurance verification. Even before a patient walks in the door, there’s the use of AI to be sure that we’re the most efficient in giving the best service possible,” said Dr. Roy Weiss, chief medical officer for ambulatory services at the University of Miami Health System.
The AI tool that’s expected to be the most useful for patients and doctors: Suki AI “ambient dictation,” an AI-powered transcription service that will be used during doctors’ visits at the medical center, which offers primary and specialty care for conditions including cancer, cardiac problems and eye disorders.
UHealth has been “incredibly forward-thinking in terms of implementing artificial intelligence,” said Dr. Dipen Parekh, a longtime surgeon at UHealth who was tapped earlier this year to be the health system’s CEO. “We basically break down AI into three buckets: anything that improves patient access, anything that improves the efficiency of the workflow, and anything that improves the outcome of the patients.”
“And you’ll see all three of them in full flavor in the SoLé Mia location, whether it is in the checking-in process, whether it is in radiation oncology, whether it is in MRI, where, using artificial intelligence algorithms, you can cut down on the amount of imaging time,” he added.
Parekh and Weiss said the new AI transcription tool will give doctors the ability to be fully present during patient visits at the new UHealth SoLé Mia, 2111 Sole Mia Way, which is part of a mega-development of residential towers and is now UHealth’s largest outpatient facility.
Doctors will be able to talk and listen without having to worry about taking notes. AI will also give doctors suggestions on potential diagnoses and recommended treatments based on the latest guidelines.
“By the time the conversation is over, a note is generated with a plan and a copy to the patient within minutes of the patient being seen,” said Weiss. “So when they leave, they have an actual report of what the plan was and what was discovered.”
Patients will be asked to give consent before the tool begins to record, with physicians required to review and approve the AI-written transcript for accuracy, with the power to tweak it as needed.
Weiss expects the AI transcriber will significantly reduce the paperwork burden on doctors, making them more efficient and helping to reduce physician burnout. Doctors who spend five hours seeing and interacting with patients usually spend another five hours finishing and reviewing notes, he said.
The AI transcription service will first be used at the new seven-story medical center before rolling out to other locations.
While Weiss said that AI can augment the patient experience, he acknowledged that it can’t replace the care that doctors, nurses and other medical professionals provide.
“AI can’t sit and hold the hand of a patient who’s worried and concerned and anxious about a procedure they’re about to have or a diagnosis that they have. There’ll never be a machine replacement for that human interaction,” he said.
The latest tech is not the only thing UHealth says it’s bringing to patients. Here are other things patients should know:
Services offered at the new UHealth SoLé Mia in North Miami
The medical center is not a hospital but an outpatient facility that can provide primary and specialty care. Besides primary care, adult patients at the new UHealth facility will have access to specialists from:
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in South Florida.
- Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, which has long been ranked as No. 1 in the country for ophthalmology by U.S. News & World Report.
- Desai Sethi Urology Institute, which has one of the largest urology residency-training programs in the country.
- Other specialty areas including cardiology, dermatology, physical rehabilitation, otolaryngology and gastroenterology.
Executives say all of the services offered at the center, which is expected to see over 70,000 patients annually, are based on community need and patient input. They describe it as a “one-stop shop” for care, with over 30 specialties housed in the facility.
Anyone will also be able to visit the center to get an eye exam or buy a new pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses at its retail store, according to Vandana Pathak, UHealth’s assistant vice president for ambulatory services. It’s located on the first floor, near Sebastian’s Bistro, a cafe with an executive sous chef that is also open to the public and decorated with dangling flying ibises, the bird that inspired UM’s mascot.
It’s all part of UHealth’s strategy to bring care closer to patients, not only to improve access to care but also to attract and retain patients and employees. UHealth and other hospital systems are trying to keep up with South Florida’s growth and searching for pockets in the community where people live or are moving to that don’t have nearby health services.
For patients, the expansion of health services into new neighborhoods means it’s a lot easier to find care close to home. For health systems, it not only helps improve access to care, one of several factors that can affect a person’s health, but it also helps secure lifelong patients, reduce overcrowding at main locations and prepare for the future.
The new medical center in North Miami, which is having a phased opening, will have all of its services available by the end of October and will be open, at least for now, from Monday through Friday.
New collaboration with top orthopedics hospital
The health system is also partnering on a new collaboration with the Hospital for Special Surgery, or HSS. The New York-based network has long reigned as the top hospital for orthopedics in the country and is renowned for its focus on musculoskeletal health.
Parekh said the partnership will help UHealth recruit top talent and expand research and education opportunities. It will also help UHealth learn from and implement best practices from HSS to ensure a “seamless experience to all the patients who come to this community.”
Focus on wellness
South Florida hospitals are looking more and more to holistic wellness to help care for not just the patient’s medical condition but their emotional health, too.
The new seven-story building is made of glass, similar to its sister UHealth Doral, an intentional architectural design that is meant to create openness and let in natural light to help boost moods and make the hospital feel less like a medical facility. The art and colors used on the first floor are designed to represent dusk, with the artwork getting lighter and lighter as you go up the facility until you reach the top floor, which is meant to represent sunset, according to Pathak.
On opening day Tuesday, a large video wall displayed soothing ocean waves and beautiful music from a pianist in the lobby greeted visitors as they walked into the building. UHealth is experimenting with adding different patient-recommended scents to the air filters on every floor, Pathak said.
Patients will have the option of checking in for appointments at the counters with staff or by using kiosks available on every floor. The kiosks will eventually be updated with facial recognition tech, similar to Face ID on phones, to speed up the check-in process.
On the seventh floor, which houses 33 private infusion bays with TVs, a woodsy scent filled the air. From the large glass windows, patients and their visitors can see SoLé Mia’s manmade lagoon and a scenic skyline with views of the Atlantic Ocean. Pathak said this floor also houses UHealth’s largest cancer support care and survivorship resource center, which offers cancer patients a variety of services, including acupuncture, massage, wig try-ons and psychology services.
“You feel like you are not in a hospital,” said Elizabeth Kaestner, one of the center’s first patients, who likened the inside of the building to a hotel. Kaestner, who was there Tuesday to undergo a sonogram, is a longtime patient of the health system.
The 51-year-old said she began going to UHealth’s shared campus with Jackson Health System in downtown Miami three times a week last year for physical therapy. Her primary care doctor is there, too. And the North Miami resident hates the long, often gridlocked, drive.
Kaestner said she delayed the sonogram for a year because of that drive. She believes the new UHealth center, which is only a 10-minute drive from her home, will be a gamechanger for her health. She already has an MRI appointment scheduled for next week.
What is SoLé Mia?
The medical center, which Parekh has previously described as being the “crown jewel” of the UHealth system, is part of the developing SoLé Mia project.
SoLé Mia is a 184-acre mixed-use project of residential towers, retail and restaurants in North Miami that sits on a former landfill. The land was declared safe for development in 1999, and the project has been under development since 2015.
There’s already a Costco in the community. People can lease apartments. Nearby schools already include a public high school, a K-8 center and the north campus of FIU. And the “city within a city” is a short drive away from Publix, Target and other stores.
Now, SoLé Mia will also be home to UHealth’s largest outpatient medical facility. It’s 363,000 square feet, about the size of seven Publix supermarkets.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
