Lee County and Lee Health have posted an updated proposed mission agreement outlining the proposed transformation of Lee Health from a publicly managed nonprofit organization to a private nonprofit organization.
The 2023 legislation that made the conversion process possible provides for at least 45 days for public review of the documents and supporting materials before a final vote by the County Commission, scheduled for Oct. 11.
At their regular meeting on Aug. 20, Lee County commissioners voted to make the updated draft agreement available on the county’s website, and at a special meeting on Aug. 21, the Lee Health board of directors followed suit, unanimously voting to review the draft and post it on leehealth.org.
Lee Health Mission Agreement Commitment
Lee Health officials said the mission agreement secures the hospital’s commitment “in perpetuity” to serve as a “safety net” health care provider to patients regardless of their ability to pay.
The mission agreement also commits the public health system, the largest in Florida with an operating budget of $3 billion, to permanently provide 14 major programs and service areas: behavioral health, cancer, cardiovascular, general internal medicine, general surgery, inpatient care, medical education, neonatology, neuroscience, orthopedics, pediatrics, primary care, trauma services and women’s health (including obstetrics and gynecology, oncology and cardiac care).
The mission agreement also includes covenants including participation in Medicare and Medicaid, use of Lee Health Foundation endowed assets within Lee County and a promise not to sell, lease, transfer or dissolve Lee Health without the county’s consent. It will be allowed to continue with its current plan to close Lee Memorial Hospital when it opens its planned acute care hospital on Challenger Boulevard in Fort Myers.
Lee Health, which is not currently a taxing district, has also committed to not seeking county taxes in the future.
Dr. Ian Gonsenhauser, chief medical officer for Lee Health, told commissioners at the Aug. 20 meeting that the vote to post the agreement “gives residents confidence in the promise of Lee Health.”
“It’s an exciting opportunity to act now to move forward with the Mission Agreement that sets out these promises,” Gonsenhauser said. “We worked hard to maintain the breadth and depth of services in the Mission Agreement. Our intent was to ensure the safety net provider role that you’ve heard about and that Lee Health has traditionally played.”
Gonsenhauser said the agreement “protects and strengthens” safety-net services for Lee County residents while also strengthening the system’s ability to “maintain local control and keep health care in our own hands, not in the hands of big providers or corporate health care.”
Dr. Larry Antonucci
In a written statement following the Aug. 21 Lee Health board meeting, Dr. Larry Antonucci, the system’s president and CEO, said, “Working with the Lee County Commissioners, we have come to an agreement that will ensure Lee Health continues to be a trusted health care provider to the community.”
“Lee Health’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to post the final agreement on our website for public review, demonstrating our support for the Mission Agreement. We appreciate the public’s participation throughout this process from the beginning and look forward to sharing more information in the coming days about this transition, which we believe is the best path forward for Lee County residents.”
Commissioners to focus on “due diligence” and public input
While the County Commission ultimately voted unanimously to post the current draft Mission Agreement, several commissioners, including District 4 Commissioner Brian Hamman, stressed that posting the agreement does not guarantee a “yes” vote on the conversion in October, after which they will review the system’s finances and hear public input over the next 45 days.
“I would say the next step in considering due diligence is to [Lee Health] “The ultimate objective of any transition from a public system to a private, nonprofit system is to put this agreement out there for 45 days for full public scrutiny,” Haman said at a committee meeting Aug. 20. “If come October we find through our due diligence that we can’t agree to it or we have real concerns, then we will not vote to move forward in October.”
