The final vote by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners on Lee Health’s conversion from a public nonprofit to a private nonprofit was scheduled during an Oct. 8 special meeting, but Hurricane Milton’s approach of Florida’s Gulf Coast led to its cancellation.
Following the cancellation there was concern surrounding when the meeting could be rescheduled to meet the mid-October deadline set up by the legislative Enabling Act that makes the health care system’s conversion possible.
But on Oct. 9 — the day Milton made landfall in Sarasota County — Florida’s Division of Emergency Management issued an emergency order under the authority of Gov. Ron DeSantis that “extends the voting deadline and authorizes the Lee County Board of Commissioners and Lee Health to complete the conversion process in the coming weeks,” according to an Oct. 11 statement from Lee Health.
On Oct. 5, DeSantis issued an executive order regarding what was then Tropical Storm Milton declaring a state of emergency in 51 counties. On Oct. 6, Lee County declared a local state of emergency and resolved to close government offices Oct. 7-11.
The emergency order by the state authorizes the commissioners and Lee Health to advance and complete the conversion process for a limited period of time past the original deadline. The emergency order was effective immediately upon publication and allows for the final vote to occur in the coming weeks, according to Lee Health.
As of Oct. 14, the special BOCC meeting has not been rescheduled, Lee Health and county officials said.
Dr. Larry Antonucci
“We are grateful to the Board of County Commissioners and state government leaders for recognizing the importance of prioritizing life and safety during the storm and still allowing the opportunity for this important work to continue for our community,” Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and CEO of Lee Health, said in the health care system’s statement. “We look forward to working with the Board of County Commissioners to complete this process and help secure Lee Health’s safety net mission far into the future.”
Antonucci said in the statement that the importance of Lee Health’s mission and impact “are particularly underscored in times of natural disaster.”
“After more than a year of work, we are committed to working closely with the county commission to schedule a final vote on the mission agreement, which provides an iron-clad assurance that we will be there in challenging times like these for another hundred years and beyond,” he said.
The still-to-be-scheduled final vote on the Lee Health mission agreement by commissioners was set up by a 9-1 vote in a special meeting of the Lee Health Board of Directors on Oct. 7, the day that mandatory evacuation orders were issued for Zones A and B in Lee County and most residents were making final storm preparation plans.
The vote was necessary to finalize the mission agreement with the county and to make official the system’s new post-conversion name, Lee Health System Inc. Board member Therese Everly cast the only dissenting vote, as she did in June on the vote that set the conversion process in motion.
Prior to the Oct. 7 Lee Health board vote, all members had to disclose whether or not they intended to continue serving on the new entity’s board of directors, which they all do, and they all had to state whether they have any disqualifying conflicts of interest. All 10 declared they have nondisqualifying voting conflicts.
