12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidaysFort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Jenny Hazelton is a busy mother of three young boys. She lives in Cape Coral, so when she had severe pain in her side October 13, she went right to the Cape Coral Hospital emergency room. “They told me that I had kidney stones… blocking my ureter.” And then just sat there. “But in order to find that out I waited like six hours to get in there. I was in pain the whole time,” Hazelton told WINK News. Hazelton’s story is similar to dozens of others we’ve heard in recent months. Hours upon hours of waiting to be seen by a doctor at Lee Memorial hospitals. “There seems like there’s a lot more people here, you know? Especially during this time of year where it’s season,” said Hazelton. But our investigation discovered it’s not just season. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lee County’s full time population is estimated to be 679,513, an 8.3% increase from 2010, and is expected to increase by another 13.1% percent by 2020. “With the growth in population we’re certainly seeing more people come to our health system,” said Scott Kashman, chief administrator at Cape Coral Hospital. Kashman was recently assigned by Lee Memorial Health System to lead a new task force aimed at looking at ways to improve patient flow at all hospitals. One area of focus: adding more beds. Lee Memorial added 92 beds system-wide in 2014-2015, and plans to add 63 more by 2016. But even with the added beds, the average ER wait time is 2-3 hours, about half as long as Hazelton waited. “It’s just not a good situation. That’s why we need to resolve it,” Dr. Raymond Kordonowy told WINK News. Kordonowy is the president of the Independent Physicians Association of Lee County, representing more than 150 local doctors who work directly with Lee Memorial. He says despite the additional beds it’s become increasingly more difficult for doctors to admit their patients to Lee Memorial hospitals. “They basically instruct me to send them to the emergency room. This is a waste. It’s contributing to the ER backup,” said Kordonowy. “This year I had this problem no matter what month it was.” Kordonowy says poor planning by Lee Memorial is to blame, not the population boom. He recently urged the health system to fix the problem by delaying elective surgeries in order to free up dozens of beds. “They believe it’s not an achievable goal. I challenge that notion and I’m willing to debate that in great detail,” said Kordonowy. In a statement to WINK News, Lee Memorial spokesperson Mary Briggs said: “We are putting together a task force with Dr. Kordonowy to address his concerns and explore opportunities to expand capacity during the busy seasonal months.” They’re also looking at how to best use what they have. “(We’re exploring) how do we leverage our system resources? And so we’re working with EMS and working with each other across the hospitals to see if patients are more appropriate to go to another hospital because there may be a bed available in a shorter time frame,” said Kashman. For busy moms like Hazelton, shorter would definitely be better. “It makes me feel better knowing that if I do have an emergency situation like that again that I can go to the ER and get diagnosed and hopefully figure out what’s wrong in a timely manner, so that way I can plan what I need to do for my life,” said Hazelton. Lee Memorial says you can help cut down on ER wait times by visiting an urgent care center or your primary care physician before resorting to the emergency room. That’s only if you don’t believe your condition is life threatening.