Lee Health: Preparing for move the trauma center
The expansion project that has been underway at Gulf Coast Medical Center for the past several years is nearing completion. The culmination of the project is the January 2022 move of the Regional Trauma Center from Lee Memorial Hospital to Gulf Coast Medical Center. The state-approved Level II Trauma Center helps patients suffering from major injuries, most frequently those caused by vehicle crashes and serious falls, as well as other types of physical trauma. As the only Trauma Center between Sarasota and Miami, it serves patients throughout Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties and operates under more stringent requirements than standard emergency departments.
The decision to move the trauma center was made for several reasons. Most importantly, Gulf Coast Medical Center is located in a more centralized area of our service region and is close to I-75, where major accidents most often occur, making it easily accessible for emergency responders. Also, the infrastructure limitations of its current location at Lee Memorial Hospital don’t accommodate the most advanced technology and equipment we need for complex medical services. Gulf Coast Medical Center offers the Trauma Center a newer, larger, state-of-the-art home.
To ensure a smooth transition and integration, multidisciplinary teams from both Lee Memorial Hospital and Gulf Coast Medical meet routinely to work on the transition process, including orientation, simulation planning and equipment training. Physicians from Gulf Coast Medical Center are spending time working with physicians at Lee Memorial Hospital and vice versa to help both teams gain exposure to new clinical workflows and integrate into new teams in support of trauma services. Emergency department nursing teams (technicians and RNs) and ancillary teams (like respiratory and physical therapy) from both campuses are also partnering up to ensure the safest and most efficient care during the transition and integration.
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) surveys and certifies trauma programs, and they conducted the survey and re-certification of the Regional Trauma Center program earlier this month. Next month, the DOH will visit Gulf Coast Medical Center to ensure it is ready to receive trauma patients. We anticipate this visit will go well and pave the way for the Trauma Center relocation.
Our Lee Health teams have successfully transported patients between facilities in the past, so we will leverage our experience to move our trauma patients safely and efficiently from Lee Memorial Hospital to Gulf Coast Medical Center.
With the relocation of the Trauma Center, Lee Memorial Hospital will transition to all private rooms, which will be a welcome change for our patients. In addition to this news, Lee Health also recently announced plans to build a hospital campus – Lee Health Colonial Campus – on Challenger Boulevard in the city of Fort Myers. Lee Memorial Hospital, which also is located within the city limits, will continue to offer clinical services, including the emergency department, orthopedics, general medicine and surgical services, and others to best serve our communities’ needs.
Lee Health is committed to maintaining our presence in the downtown area of Fort Myers, and we plan to work with the city of Fort Myers and undertake a visioning process to determine the best use of the Lee Memorial Hospital property to meet the needs of the community into the future.
More: Lee Health: Injury prevention matters
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: Preparing for move the trauma center
