Warm weekend with spotty showers, daylight saving time ends tonightSWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 11
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Warm weekend with spotty showers, daylight saving time ends tonight The Weather Authority says Saturday is starting nice and dry with some passing clouds and pleasant conditions.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 11 The Lehigh Lightning beat the Sarasota Sailors in a Monday night matchup to earn their first win of the season in week 11.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man files injunction against city over Jaycee Park A Cape Coral man has filed an injunction against the City of Cape Coral over the renovation of Jaycee Park.
CAPE CORAL Brothers gain highest Boy Scout award for repairing food pantry General Manager of the Adventist Community Services Alexandra Berru said she couldn’t be more grateful for the twin brothers.
2 Vietnam veterans raise $20,000 for monument in Naples Two Vietnam veterans raised over $20,000 to create a Vietnam monument at Cambier Park in Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Lee County to pick up debris on Estero and Hickory boulevards After three weeks of hard work clearing mountains of sand from Estero and Hickory boulevards, Lee County crews are ready to switch gears to storm debris collection along these main county roads.
SANIBEL Are our habitats on the brink of a slow collapse? For two years, Sanibel Island’s delicate ecosystems have been battered by unrelenting storm surges, leaving behind dead trees and tainted freshwater pools.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres driver wants more safety measures for State Road 82 A Lehigh Acres man wants other drivers to know to pay attention. He also wants the county, city or state to put some more patrols out here.
SANIBEL What beaches are experiencing red tide issues now? Parts of Southewst Florida are dealing with red tide. But it’s not impacting Sanibel or beachgoers there.
NAPLES Naples Police Department begins celebrations of 100 years of service The City of Naples Police Department will hit 100 years of service in November of 2025, and they are now beginning their year of celebrations.
ESTERO FGCU students and professor weigh in on upcoming election As the nation gears up for a pivotal election, a question lingers among young voters. Will students turn out to vote?
New procedure helping disc pain Neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and arm pain can all be caused by a herniated disc. If left untreated, this can become debilitating and lead to nerve damage.
FORT MYERS Final weekend for early voting The clock’s winding down on early voting. This is the final weekend to cast your ballot. If you haven’t voted yet, you may have to wait in line on Election Day.
Wawa tumblers recalled after reported injuries Wawa is recalling 60,000 tumblers because of a safety hazard with metal straws.
SOUTH FORT MYERS Boil water notice lifted in South Fort Myers area After taking necessary precautions, Lee County Utilities has rescinded the boil water notice that affected 420 residences and 15 commercial sites for South Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Warm weekend with spotty showers, daylight saving time ends tonight The Weather Authority says Saturday is starting nice and dry with some passing clouds and pleasant conditions.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 11 The Lehigh Lightning beat the Sarasota Sailors in a Monday night matchup to earn their first win of the season in week 11.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man files injunction against city over Jaycee Park A Cape Coral man has filed an injunction against the City of Cape Coral over the renovation of Jaycee Park.
CAPE CORAL Brothers gain highest Boy Scout award for repairing food pantry General Manager of the Adventist Community Services Alexandra Berru said she couldn’t be more grateful for the twin brothers.
2 Vietnam veterans raise $20,000 for monument in Naples Two Vietnam veterans raised over $20,000 to create a Vietnam monument at Cambier Park in Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Lee County to pick up debris on Estero and Hickory boulevards After three weeks of hard work clearing mountains of sand from Estero and Hickory boulevards, Lee County crews are ready to switch gears to storm debris collection along these main county roads.
SANIBEL Are our habitats on the brink of a slow collapse? For two years, Sanibel Island’s delicate ecosystems have been battered by unrelenting storm surges, leaving behind dead trees and tainted freshwater pools.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres driver wants more safety measures for State Road 82 A Lehigh Acres man wants other drivers to know to pay attention. He also wants the county, city or state to put some more patrols out here.
SANIBEL What beaches are experiencing red tide issues now? Parts of Southewst Florida are dealing with red tide. But it’s not impacting Sanibel or beachgoers there.
NAPLES Naples Police Department begins celebrations of 100 years of service The City of Naples Police Department will hit 100 years of service in November of 2025, and they are now beginning their year of celebrations.
ESTERO FGCU students and professor weigh in on upcoming election As the nation gears up for a pivotal election, a question lingers among young voters. Will students turn out to vote?
New procedure helping disc pain Neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and arm pain can all be caused by a herniated disc. If left untreated, this can become debilitating and lead to nerve damage.
FORT MYERS Final weekend for early voting The clock’s winding down on early voting. This is the final weekend to cast your ballot. If you haven’t voted yet, you may have to wait in line on Election Day.
Wawa tumblers recalled after reported injuries Wawa is recalling 60,000 tumblers because of a safety hazard with metal straws.
SOUTH FORT MYERS Boil water notice lifted in South Fort Myers area After taking necessary precautions, Lee County Utilities has rescinded the boil water notice that affected 420 residences and 15 commercial sites for South Fort Myers.
Dr. Larry Antonucci, CEO and president of Lee Health. (CREDIT: WINK News) For 40 years Lee Health President Larry Antonucci has served the Lee County community. He arrived at the hospital system straight out of residency. In 1983, Lee Memorial was the only hospital. Now there are four acute care hospitals, plus primary care and outpatient facilities and much more. It was never Antanucci’s plan to become the top doctor for the hospital system. “My plan was to be a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist for my career,” Antonucci told WINK News during a recent interview about the healthcare system’s future. He delivered babies for 24 years. But the only thing constant in life is change. Before becoming part of the hospital administration, Dr. Larry Antonucci delivered babies at Lee Health. When the CEO of Lee Health asked him to join the administration, Antonucci said he couldn’t say no. “This is an opportunity to take care of people a thousand at a time, instead of one at a time,” Antonucci said. In a conversation with WINK News, Antonucci reflected about the past and discussed future care. “I think healthcare is going to change,” he said. “I think we’re going to see a lot of transformation in healthcare, and we want to be at the front edge of that.” Antonucci said he sees healthcare shifting care away from the hospital to home. “We’re looking at a hospital-at-home program right now to be able to take care of lower acuity people in their own homes.” Antonucci said. “It’s really going to be part of a team that can transform healthcare and deliver healthcare in a better way, in a more patient-centered, family-centered way, one that keeps people out of the hospital, that keeps people out of the emergency room.” This could be helpful because wait at emergency departments times during season continue to be an issue. “I don’t think there’s any way to completely resolve it,” he said. “It would be like saying how you’re going to affect the traffic on U.S. 41.” But that doesn’t mean Lee Health isn’t trying, Antonnuci said. The system has what he calls “our front door strategy,” which calls for improving access to primary care doctors. Dr. Larry Antonucci has worked at Lee Health since after his residency. (CREDIT: Lee Health) WINK News also asked Antonucci about the use of AI in medicine. “AI is at its infancy as it relates to medicine,” he said. “Healthcare is a high-touch field, that you’re never going to replace the bedside nurse and what needs to be done there. And you’re never going to replace the skill of a surgeon and the decision-making and the judgments that have to be made in the middle of a surgical care.” Antonucci said the hospital system will have to watch the AI field as it evolves and see what kind of safeguards there will be. “I think there’s always the potential, and I think, you know, there’s plenty of issues that we deal with now in healthcare with regard to fraud and abuse, and I think that’s not going to stop, but we just got to stay on top of it,” Antonucci said. There are still times when patients here must leave Lee County for treatment. Antonucci said his team is actively recruiting specialists to meet the needs of the area’s growing community. Lee Health also plans to build a new hospital along Challenger Boulevard, but Antonucci told WINK that no definite plans are set.