Lee Health seeking license for hospital in south Lee County

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Lee Health submitted a letter Wednesday to state regulators as the first step for seeking approval to build a hospital with up to 160 beds in south Lee County, hospital officials said.

The publicly elected board of directors for Lee Health will be asked at its board meeting Thursday for the go-ahead to submit a certificate of need, or CON, application to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

“We have recognized the need for a hospital in South Lee County for a very long time,” Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and chief executive officer of Lee Health, said in a press release. “This new hospital bed tower will integrate beautifully with Lee Health – Coconut Point, and provide necessary acute care beds to the community.”

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The hospital tower would be built on the south side of the Lee Health Village at Coconut Point in Estero. That’s where the system’s $140 million outpatient medical complex is being built at Coconut Road near the Bonita Community Health Center and U.S. 41.

Lee Health spokeswoman Mary Briggs said the 160,000-square-foot outpatient medical complex at Coconut Point, on 33 acres, has been designed to accommodate a hospital someday.

Longstanding hospital competitor Nashville-based HCA Healthcare submitted a letter of intent earlier this month to the state seeking a license to build a 100-bed hospital somewhere in Lee County. HCA has not disclosed a location.

Briggs said Lee Health’s action with its own letter is not solely because of HCA.

“We are not doing it just in reaction to HCA,” Briggs said. “The timing of their letter of intent is impacting our timing.”

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Still, she said Lee Health had not planned to pursue a hospital license this year.

Lee Health officials believe the proposed HCA hospital, if awarded a license from the state, would be located in south Lee, according to board agenda documents.

Lee Health’s bid to build a hospital in Estero is a second go-around: The state rejected an 80-bed hospital proposal at Coconut Point in 2013.

The decision was heartbreaking to Bonita Springs and Estero residents who have rallied for years for their own hospital. The outpatient project with a freestanding emergency room at Coconut Point became the alternative plan.

“We are excited to share our plans with South Lee community groups, individuals, and business organizations that provided significant support in our previous CON application,” Antonucci said.

The NCH Healthcare System in Collier County opposed the 80-bed hospital plan in 2013.

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With the latest move from Lee Health, NCH spokeswoman Debbie Curry said Wednesday they need more details.

“As is the custom, there is minimal information in these initial letters of intent so it would not be appropriate for us to comment in detail until we have had a chance to review their complete applications which are due in April,” Curry said. “NCH remains fully committed to serving all of our patients with the highest level of quality care in the community.”

Preliminary hospital applications are due March 7, followed by a detailed application that will be due April 11. The state will issue a decision June 1.

The application process typically includes letters of support or opposition from community members and medical professionals, along with a potential hearing in the community.

Briggs said a cost estimate for the new hospital proposal and other details may be presented to the board Thursday.

At the Estero Village Council meeting Wednesday, Councilman Nick Batos, a liaison to Lee Health, said he was notified by Lee Health that staff may be requesting permission from the board to pursue a hospital at Coconut Point.

“This goes along with the plans they had all along,” Batos said. “They already have some drawings for it.”

Naples Daily News reporter Brittany Carloni contributed to this report.