Lee County and Lee Health posted the latest draft mission agreement framing Lee Health’s proposed conversion from a public nonprofit to a private nonprofit business structure.
The 2023 legislative enabling act that made the conversion process possible requires at least a 45-day period for public review of the document and supporting materials prior to a final vote by the county commission, which is expected to take place Oct. 11.
At their regular meeting Aug. 20, Lee County commissioners voted to publish the latest draft of the agreement on the county website. On Aug. 21, in a special meeting, the Lee Health board of directors followed suit, reviewing the draft and voting unanimously to post it on leehealth.org.
Lee Health commitments in mission agreement
Lee Health officials said the mission agreement guarantees its commitment to serving “in perpetuity” as the “safety net” medical care provider for patients regardless of ability to pay.
In the mission agreement the public health care system—the largest in Florida with a $3 billion operating budget—also commits to providing 14 key programs and service areas in perpetuity: behavioral health, cancer, cardiovascular, general medicine, general surgery, inpatient care, medical education, neonatology, neurosciences, orthopedics, pediatrics, primary care, trauma services and women’s health (including OB-GYN, cancer care and heart care).
The mission agreement also includes covenants covering participation in Medicare and Medicaid, use of the Lee Health Foundation’s donor assets within Lee County and a commitment not to sell, lease or transfer, or dissolve Lee Health without County consent. The system will be allowed to continue with current plans to close Lee Memorial Hospital when they open the planned acute care hospital on Challenger Boulevard in Fort Myers.
Lee Health, which is not currently a taxing district, also commits not to seek county tax levies in the future.
Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, Lee Health’s chief medical officer, told commissioners at the Aug. 20 meeting that their vote to post the agreement would “give residents certainty about Lee Health’s commitments.”
“Acting now to advance the mission agreement that will enshrine those commitments is a tremendous opportunity,” Gonsenhauser said. “We worked hard to preserve a breadth and depth of services in the mission agreement, and our aim was to guarantee the safety net provider role that you’ve heard about and that Lee Health has traditionally filled.”
Gonsenhauser said the agreement will also “protect and deepen” safety net services for Lee County residents, while enhancing the system’s ability to “preserve our local control and keep our health care in our hands, not in those of big medicine or corporate medicine.”
Dr. Larry Antonucci
In a written statement following the Aug. 21 Lee Health board meeting, system President and CEO Dr. Larry Antonucci said “In working with the Lee County Board of County Commissioners, we have developed an agreement to ensure that Lee Health remains the trusted health care provider of choice for our community.
“The Lee Health board of directors showed their support of the mission agreement through a unanimous vote to post the final agreement to our website for public review. We are grateful to have welcomed the public to join us for this entire process from the beginning and look forward to continuing to share more about this conversion as the best path forward for the residents of Lee County.”
Commissioners focusing on ‘due diligence’ and public input
While the county board ultimately voted unanimously to post the current mission agreement draft, several commissioners, including District 4 Commissioner Brian Hamman, emphasized that the posting of the agreement does not guarantee a “yes” vote on the conversion in October and that they will be reviewing system financials and listening to public comments in the ensuing 45 days.
“I believe the very appropriate next step in examining the due diligence of should they [Lee Health] transition from the public system to a private nonprofit system is to go ahead and put this agreement out for public review for 45 days so it can face the full scrutiny of the public,” Hamman said at the Aug. 20 commission meeting. “If we get to October and we have learned things about this that we, through our due diligence, don’t agree with or are really concerned about, we don’t vote to move forward in October.”
