Planning for the future of health care

To respond to Southwest Florida's growing population and healthcare demands, Lee Health's strategic Fort Myers Campus master plan creates a first-class medical campus that is welcoming to the community with the hospital positioned centrally on the site. The plan aims to provide cutting-edge healthcare services, promote community health, and accommodate future growth and healthcare innovation.

With the intention of continuing its decades of service to the community, Lee Health and Flad worked closely with city officials, permitting agencies, and utility companies to maximize the value of the property, provide a framework for future infrastructure, and design infrastructure resilient to catastrophic weather events. The plan identified near- and long-term plans for the campus and delineates a multiphase building program. The first phase of the 52-acre campus includes gradual relocation of key Lee Health programs, ambulatory service offerings, and new community access, and it will result in approximately 520,0000 square feet of facilities, including a 168-bed acute care hospital and a 127,000-square-foot medical office building supportive of an orthopedic center of excellence and outpatient surgery center.

Access points for the public and those for service functions are organized for separate, safe, and convenient paths of travel. Pedestrian walking paths meander through enhanced landscaped areas and gardens, creating a walkable environment and supporting a healthy lifestyle campus. To benefit the hospital's workforce, multifamily dwellings for on-site housing and a daycare are also proposed.

To prepare for future growth, the plan integrates educational support for patients and staff to maximize adoption of clinical and technological advances, reducing any technological disparities and promoting equity of care through various digital health modalities. Flexible space allows for expanded bed capacity and cost-effectiveness. The proposed campus will provide accessible, fullservice care to the community and position Lee Health as a destination healthcare provider now and in the future.