ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
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.