Lee Health mulling switching to a private nonprofit system to expand

Reporter: Haley Zarcone
Published: Updated:
Lee Health hospital (CREDIT: Lee Health)

Making the switch from public to private is what Lee Health is trying to decide as leaders debate the move and its consequences.

On Thursday, the health network held a public hearing during which they discussed how this will affect the care they provide.

The switch would give patients more opportunities to access medical care, especially since Lee Health believes it primarily serves Lee County.

However, with a fifth of their patients coming from outside the county, they need room to expand, and that is exactly what the switch would do.

WINK News spoke to Lee Health’s chief financial officer, Ben Spence, about the switch.

“Gives them the ability to do things we haven’t been able to even consider before,” he said. “We’ve lived in a bit of a bubble right in our public construct, and we haven’t been able to go outside that bubble. But now we’re able to look beyond and outside the bubble. There’s amazing opportunity that we’ve never had the opportunity to act on.”

They have until June 20 to decide. From there, Lee Health officials would have to make an agreement with county commissioners in October.

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