The Turtle Hospital in Marathon is growing out of its shell in the Middle Keys.
Of course, its beloved original site, purchased and converted decades ago from a motel and gentleman’s club by hospital founder Richie Moretti, is staying right where it is. But recent purchases of the former Keys Cycle Shop in July 2024 and First Horizon Bank in January 2025, located on neighboring properties to the west of the hospital, allow new avenues of expansion for research, medical treatment – and a spot to quench a local shopaholic’s thirst.
“The end use of this building is going to be a research hospital,” said Turtle Hospital manager Bette Zirkelbach, sitting in the newly-reconfigured bank that served as an education center while the original building underwent city-mandated repairs.
The existing hospital has functioned since 1991, but floods with even a heavy rain, jeopardizing crucial and expensive equipment. Over the last three decades, flooding has forced replacement of X-ray equipment three times, the hospital said in a press release. The new space, meanwhile, could pave the way for more advanced diagnostics like on-site CT scans.
“We may leave the surgical suite over (in the original building), because we’ve had situations where more than one surgery is going at a time. It’s not our norm, but my goal is to build a state-of-the-art research hospital so scientists can come to do work here,” Zirkelbach said.
More than 30 years of turtle medical records kept at the hospital, she said, combined with the hospital’s non-releasable permanent residents are an enticing “gold mine” to veterinarians and scientists alike, working for the good of the reptiles’ cousins around the globe.
“There are studies that scientists can do just with the records alone that don’t involve permitting and grabbing a turtle out of the ocean,” she said.
One such example: With the hospital’s permanent residents serving as blood donors for rescued animals, the Turtle Hospital has pioneered its own blood transfusion technique, “different than the one in the books, but it’s amazing,” Zirkelbach said. Meanwhile, knowledge of anticoagulants, blood types and best transport and storage practices can help save turtles far beyond the Middle Keys.
The room to grow adds new layers of depth and possibility for a facility that’s already a go-to destination for researchers and universities after successfully returning more than 3,000 turtles to the wild. Each December, the Turtle Hospital hosts the Florida Keys Sea Turtle Workshop, uniting investigators, vets and husbandry professionals from Florida and beyond to share ideas and breakthroughs in turtle medical care and rehabilitation. It’s a flagship event Zirkelbach says she hopes to expand upon in future years.
Just down the street from the hospital, the reimagined former Keys Cycle shop will serve as a shipping and receiving center along with a retail store, aiming to attract both local and visiting shoppers as it bridges the gap between portions of Faro Blanco Resort.
“It won’t just be knickknacks and touristy-type things, but if you wanted a rug or pillow with a turtle on it – things that are more local homewares,” Zirkelbach said.
Upgrades to the signs, paint and facades of all three buildings, including enhanced graphic work on available glass panels facing U.S. 1 in the original hospital, will unite the now-sprawling campus with what Zirkelbach called an “incredible curb appeal.” And though the two new expansions came in relatively rapid succession for the nonprofit, she said the hospital’s mission is far beyond “just buying up buildings.”
“This is a beautiful model for ecotourism, and it’s a win-win,” she said. “The thing I’m most proud of is that as we’ve increased the educational programs, we’re educating the same people who are out on our reefs and waters. Now, six out of 10 of our rescue calls come from people who’ve come through our educational programs.”
A grand opening for the new retail space at 2040 Overseas Highway is set for Monday, July 28 from 3 to 6:30 p.m. The Christmas in July festivities will include a snow globe, free ice cream from Conch Custard, photo ops with hospital mascot Tina the Turtle, and raffle drawings for Turtle Hospital tickets and clothing.
