The importance of ShorePoint Health in Punta Gorda

WINK News is hearing from people who say that the community is losing something it cannot live without.

ShorePoint Hospital in Punta Gorda has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.

ShorePoint Health Punta Gorda‘s boarded up doors tell all in the area they’re closed for business and patients.

Now, people living south Gilcrest Bridge are concerned about when they need medical help from six miles away.

“You definitely need a hospital here,” said Clifford Rice, “and they probably should build a new one.”

Rice has lived here for a long time and has received treatment from ShorePoint before.

Down the block lives Chakulaa Smith.

Smith said he has post-Lyme disease and is very familiar with ShorePoint.

“I’ve used it quite a few times. My doctor used to work there, used to head up the emergency room. It was a very good local place to go for us,” said Smith.

Smith and Rice’s communities, just like ShorePoint, were devastated by the 2024 hurricane season. They know why having a hospital nearby matters.

“Having a hospital close by is advantageous, you know, because you don’t have to travel as far if you have a situation,” said Smith.

But now, in an emergency, they’d have to travel further to Port Charlotte, and since the Gilcrest Bridge over the Peace River can flood during a hurricane, people like Rice and Smith could lose precious seconds and minutes without Punta Gorda’s ShorePoint.

“Everybody’s over age here, and they need it. They definitely need a hospital,” said Rice.

WINK News has reached out to Adventhealth, the company buying ShorePoint. No one is talking until the transaction is complete.

ShorePoint tells us that it’s sure Adventhealth understands the need in this community.