ShorePoint Health in Punta Gorda to permanently close

The ShorePoint Health Hospital in Punta Gorda will permanently close due to damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

• RELATED: Shorepoint Health workers reflect on Ian one year later

Advent Health agreed to purchase two ShorePoint Hospitals in Charlotte County last month,
but it is unclear what it means since this hospital will not reopen following damage from the hurricanes.

This is leaving people in Punta Gorda to look for another place for care.

Kathy Wittman and her husband were disappointed after hearing ShorePoint Hospital was closing permanently.

“It’s one of the reasons why I moved here,” said Wittman. “My husband has asthma, and if he has a situation that needs assistance right now, we need to get there.”

Most people want convenience, and some need it in life-threatening situations. The hospital has been around for over 80 years, so some residents are sad to see it go.

“We’ve been through the hospital in Port Charlotte, too, and their affiliate,” said Wittman. “And it was excellent health care. We get excellent health care.”

However, according to couple Peter and Pam Grenier, the Shorepoint Hospital had run its course.

“Everyone said that you move here, don’t go to that hospital unless you want to die. So either go north or go south,” said Pam Grenier.

Some residents have had a bad experience with the hospital and believe that, due to its older facilities, it is time to let go.

“It’s a loss for the community, but I do believe it was an older facility,” said Peter Grenier. “It really needed to be replaced, and hopefully, they do replace it with brand new, updated modern facilities that will attract good medical personnel, doctors and nurses.”

However, looking forward to the future is the focus of everyone’s mind.

Teri Ashley is a Punta Gorda resident. She said that she hopes that Punta Gorda gets more healthcare.

“We just hope something comes out of it,” said Ashley. “Something comes out of it. With our population growing the way it is, we need more medical services, not less, definitely.”

The future plans for ShorePoint Health are unknown, but the decommissioning has begun, and we should know more by February.