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 The mission of the Committee is the establishment of a
Community Hospital to serve our communities’ healthcare needs as soon as
possible and a 24/7 free-standing emergency department during the period
prior to the hospital’s opening.
Goals
·
To develop, in the immediate future, a
quality free-standing emergency care facility in our community that will be
operational seven days a week, 24 hours a day and,
· To
plan for the building of a full-service, community based inpatient hospital
consisting of the required number of beds to serve the populations of Estero,
Bonita
Springs,
Florida
Gulf
Coast
University
other areas of south
Lee
County
and northern
Collier
County.
Committee Members
 Member List
April 2011 Presentation to Committee by BCHC
Bonita Community Health Center (BCHC) proposal for the
establishment of a Free-standing ER in that facility - January 29, 2010
Emergency Health Care -
SLNA Presentation
 Community Health Care Needs
Assessment Report
Issued Jan 22, 2009 |
Important Reports
May Update
Thank you for your support for the Lee Memorial south Lee Count y Hospital application to the State Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). The 2,200 letters and 60 supporters who took the time to travel to Ft. Myers to testify in support of the proposal shattered all records for community support of a hospital application.
As you probably know Naples Community Healthcare (NCH) has filed an objection to the Lee Memorial application. Under AHCA’s procedure Lee Memorial has 10 days to respond to NCH’s objections. Lee Memorial informs us that they are working on their response and expect it to be filed on AHCA’s schedule.
Under AHCA’s rules only Lee Memorial can submit a response to the NCH challenge. The time for public input to AHCA’s is over.
AHCA has only about 30 days, by June 7th, after receiving Lee Memorial’s rebuttal to make a decision.
The South Lee County Hospital Committee believes that Lee Memorial filed an outstanding application with AHCA. The Committee supports the Lee Memorial application because they want to help the people of South Lee County gain timely access to emergency and acute care.
We are confident that Lee Memorial’s response to the NCH challenge will also be excellent.
Some of the key points made by the Lee Memorial application:
- The 80 beds are not additional beds, they are existing beds being transferred from Lee Memorial’s downtown Ft. Myers hospital,
- The current population, exclusive of “snowbirds”, of the south Lee County service area is 180,000, and it is growing rapidly,
- Compared to other areas of the county, state and country a much higher percentage of this population is 65 years and older, a group that consumes hospital services at a much higher rate than younger people,
- The elderly population of the service area is growing much faster than the overall population of the area, over 20% during the next 5 years alone,
- This population consists of residents who have much higher incomes and better insurance coverage than most other areas thus helping the hospital to be financially successful,
- The nearest hospital is 12 miles from the Lee Memorial hospital site that they have owned for nearly a decade,
- Depending on traffic conditions Bonita Springs and Estero residents can expect it to take up to an hour to reach the nearest hospital.
Most of the testimony at the AHCA Hearing related the troubling experiences that many of our residents have had in accessing emergency medical care and how a hospital in south Lee County could eliminate those experiences and the apprehension they produce.
Thanks again for your help.
The South Lee County Hospital Committee
April 12, 2013 Presentation to ECCL
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