New medical facility to treat patients between Lee, Collier hospitals

ESTERO, Fla. – A new $140 million facility to treat patients is on its way to Southwest Florida.

The Lee Health Village will be built on a 31-acre plot on Coconut Point south of Coconut Road as part of the Lee Memorial Health System. It will feature an emergency department, a two-story clinic and a surgery center. Developers also plan to include pedestrian paths and garden seating.

Beverly MacNellis, an Estero resident for nearly 15 years, said she’s happy to see the new outpatient center moving forward.

“It means everything to me,” she said. “I’m at an age where I’ll probably need the emergency service sooner than later.”

Estero council members reviewed the health village’s design Wednesday. Many believed it will be suitably located to treat patients who live between Lee Memorial Health System hospitals and North Collier Hospital, including South Trail Fire District Chief William Lombardo.

“Right now they’re either having to transport either up to Gulf Coast Hospital, which is the hospital that is the farthest south, or into north Collier County down at NCH,” he said.

There will be no beds at this facility, according to David Kistel of Lee Memorial Health System. LMHS is pushing for the center to be completed in the next two years.

The project’s plot is next to senior housing, multiple multi-family residences, some commercial land and two golf course communities.

Kistel said there are plans to add beds to the facility in the future.