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Lee Health Fort Myers: Campus Expansion
A new health care option is on the horizon in Southwest Florida, one that could also deliver economic aid to an area still feeling the effects of 2022’s Hurricane Ian.
Tentatively known as Lee Health Fort Myers, the new 52-acre hospital campus will provide a destination for quality medical care for residents and visitors, in addition to new jobs. It will be built in phases over several years, with those phases moving forward based on community needs.
Although approved for as many as 400 acute care beds, Lee Health anticipates that in the immediate future the campus will include an acute care hospital with approximately 120 beds, a skilled nursing facility, specialty services, an emergency department and observation rooms. The campus will feature 18 operating rooms, with eight of the rooms located in an Ambulatory Care Services building. Also, the state-of-the-art campus will house ancillary and social services, as well as a Medical Office Building.
Through September 2027, Lee Memorial Hospital will continue to offer clinical services, including an emergency department, inpatient beds and surgical services for the Fort Myers community and downtown area.
The project is the latest in a lengthy list of investments related to health care in the Fort Myers area, where Category 4 Hurricane Ian hit in late September 2022. Lee Health is working on investing in the future of Cape Coral at Bimini Basin, the Lee Health Outpatient Center at Surfside and expanding Cape Coral Hospital, as well as future growth in Lehigh Acres. Also, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Cancer Clinic at the Bonita Health Center opened in September 2023.
Founded in 1916, Lee Health is one of the largest not-for-profit public health systems in the United States. All totaled, Lee Health consists of four general hospitals and two specialty hospitals (including Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida), along with outpatient centers, convenient care clinics, pediatric outpatient facilities and post-acute care facilities. According to its 2021 economic study, the Lee Health system employs more than 14,000 people, including 2,200-plus medical staff. And with the plans for expansion, those numbers will grow.
