Lee Health: Plans increase access to care in Cape Coral

Larry Antonucci
·2 min read
Rich Helvey, rear in white coat and pink mask, oversees about 70 employees in environmental services at Cape Coral Hospital. His employees show their love after an eight-hour shift on Monday, April 20, 2020, that includes cleaning rooms with COVID-19 patients.
Rich Helvey, rear in white coat and pink mask, oversees about 70 employees in environmental services at Cape Coral Hospital. His employees show their love after an eight-hour shift on Monday, April 20, 2020, that includes cleaning rooms with COVID-19 patients.

Lee Health is committed to providing the highest quality health care for our patients and communities throughout Southwest Florida and expanding services when and where necessary. We have projects underway to increase access to health care services and transform care delivery in Cape Coral, our region's largest city and one of the fastest-growing cities in Florida.

Larry Antonucci
Larry Antonucci

The expansion starts where there is the greatest need – Cape Coral Hospital. The projects here include the addition of 12 beds to the intensive care unit, increasing the unit from 22 to 34 beds. There also will be six treatment bays and a 12-bed observation unit added in the emergency department.

The next phase of the expansion focuses on a parcel of land Lee Health purchased in the city. We anticipate using this land to build an innovative health care facility similar to Lee Health Coconut Point, which opened in Estero in December 2018.

Lee Health Coconut Point currently meets 90 percent of the health care needs of the Estero-Bonita Springs area with its combination of physician offices, diagnostic testing, pharmacy, laboratory, emergency department, outpatient surgery, observation beds and other health care services.

With this new facility, we expect to bring that same level of care to the residents of Cape Coral. The Lee Health Board of Directors also approved a plan to construct a new building on the southeast corner of Palm Tree Boulevard and Cape Coral Parkway.

This area of Cape Coral is currently underserved, so the project, known as Bimini Basin, will include a large medical office footprint and apartments located on top of the medical space. The popular outpatient facility at Surfside is also expanding by 14,000 square feet, bringing more specialty services and a comprehensive rehabilitation center to the city.

Other outpatient services coming to Cape Coral as part of this major investment in the city’s health care include expanded mental health services for children and an oncology infusion center. In addition to the planned expansions, Cape Coral Hospital is poised to become a teaching hospital as Lee Health will soon launch its Internal Medicine Residency Program there.

This program, in partnership with The Florida State University College of Medicine, will provide top-tier training and bring more highly-skilled doctors to our area. Earlier this month, a new Lee Health Internal Medicine Residency Clinic opened less than a mile from Cape Coral Hospital. This clinic increases access to primary care while also providing valuable opportunities for residents to train and see patients under the supervision of faculty physicians. We are proud and excited to watch the growth and development; as we expand once again to meet the health care needs of our community.

More: Lee Health: Alternate venues for care during a COVID-19 surge

Larry Antonucci, M.D., MBA is the president & CEO of Lee Health, Southwest Florida’s major destination for health care offering acute care, emergency care, rehabilitation and diagnostic services, health and wellness education, and community outreach and advocacy programs. Visit www.LeeHealth.org to learn more.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lee Health: Plans increase access to care in Cape Coral