The Community Relations Committee invited Lee Health personnel to HP once again on November 17. Eric Anderson,System Director of Strategic Capital Construction Projects, and his team from Lee Health Hospital and Skanska Construction gave about 40 HP residents an update on the progress of the new hospital in our own backyard!
ERIC ANDERSON, KATY MARTINEZ, AND
MOLLY GRUBBS, AND FROM SKANSKA
CONSTRUCTION, TRENTON LEBLANC.
A new wing referred to as the “West Bank” is already under construction. The bed count has been expanded by 68 beds, to bring the total to 216. They will build this facility with “shell” floors to allow for quick expansion. The total building height will not be more than eight stories. There are three entrances in the front of the building: the main entrance, the discharge exit and emergency. The new West wing includes x-ray machines in the examination rooms. Futuristic rehab facilities include pickleball and golf simulation onsite to get patients back in the game. The MN Twins baseball team has committed to this facility for their staff/players rehabilitation. Katy Martinez, representing the Lee Foundation, noted how funds are used for charity care.
The completion date is projected for August/September 2028. HP residents will be invited to tour the facility prior to the opening. The intersection at Winkler and Colonial is under review for a stoplight with the state of FL, who owns Colonial. The newly named road, “Jones Walker Blvd,” was named after the first hospital built exclusively to serve Lee County’s black community in the 1920s.The building was located on High Street in Fort Myers.
Eric reiterated that Lee Memorial Hospital on Route 41 will eventually be torn down as it’s too costly to renovate and bring up to today’s codes. Eventually a new health-related facility will be built on that site. We look forward to additional updates by the Lee Health team sometime in 2026.
