The Aug. 1 business luncheon of the SanCap Chamber kicked off with a joyous occasion outside Sundial Beach Resort on Sanibel Island as a crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the resort’s official first day of business since Hurricane Ian. Along with keynote speakers Dr. Larry Antonucci and Michael Nachef of Lee Health, chamber leaders, and Sundial and sponsoring MHK Architecture representatives spoke at the ensuing luncheon to hail the significance of Sanibel’s largest accommodations complex to reopen to date.
“I can’t wait for everyone to have this day,” said Sundial general manager Becky Miller as she explained the resort’s current daycation operations model. “This is our Day 1.” She added that rooms will begin to open for occupancy in November, starting with west-side units.
Antonucci and Nachef took the podium to explain the “why and why now” reasoning behind Lee Health systems’ current process of returning to a community-centered nonprofit structure from the public special district structure of today, which has been in effect since 1960. At that time, the Florida legislature sanctioned the transition from a private not-for-profit to a non-taxing special district committed to offering “safety net” health care to everyone, with or without Medicaid, Medicare, or commercial health insurance.
Now under the oversee of the Lee Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), Lee Health has been working for the past six months evaluating the conversion back to a private, community-based system.
“The role of leadership… is identify icebergs before you hit them,” said Antonucci, chief operating officer of Lee Health Hospital Services. “You don’t wait until you hit the iceberg and are taking on water before you make structural changes to meet the future challenges you anticipate you’re going to face.”
Some of the challenges include “Cost increases; service disrupters in the marketplace such as CVS, Amazon, and private equity companies; the rise in consumerism; keeping pace with technology; shifts in value-based care; and, of course, the physician and nurse shortages,” he said.
The conversion would also allow Lee Health to expand beyond Lee County borders to better serve the 20 percent of current patients coming from outside county boundaries.
“For why conversion makes sense now,… we believe in Lee Health and Lee County, and the strong leadership and economic growth in the region is what makes this possible…. “ said Nachef, system director of government relations for Lee Health. “If the economy here were not strong this would not be a viable option.”
The speakers pointed out Lee Health is a local economic driver and the top employer in the county with 30,000-plus related jobs.
“We are among one of the largest public health systems in the country,… and we are clearly the largest public health system that does not levy a tax on its citizens,” said Antonucci.
They emphasized nothing would change as far as patient care or Lee Health’s safety-net mission and non-taxing status. Their group has spent the past 100 days working with the BOCC and educating the public about conversion. Currently, they work to post a final document, due by Aug. 27 for voting in October. In the meantime, citizens can visit leehealth.org/lookingahead to learn more and ask questions about the conversion.
One question posed by chamber attendees at the business meeting had to do with continuing the Lee Health office presence on-island.
“Yes, we plan on growing with Sanibel. We’re in fact, exploring other options on Sanibel, too, so yes, we’re committed to the Sanibel community,” said Nachef, who also serves on the SanCap Chamber board of directors.
“Michael and Larry clearly demonstrated today their promises of transparency with salient, straight-forward discourse regarding a complicated issue,” said John Lai, president and chief executive officer of the SanCap Chamber. “Their commitment to the island and greater county community is apparent. We thank them for sharing Lee Health’s vision.”
The next business luncheon will take place Wednesday, Sep. 18, at the Community House on Sanibel Island, featuring The Everglades Foundation chief executive officer Eric Eikenberg. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.
ABOUT SANCAP CHAMBER
The SanCap Chamber is dedicated to promoting the prosperity of its members and preserving the quality of life of our community. The Chamber plays a key role in facilitating communication and cooperation between business, residents, and government to enhance the economic health of the islands. Its website, sanibel-captiva.org, receives over 1.3 million visits per year. For more information about the chamber, visit sanibel-captiva.org or contact John Lai, president and CEO, at 239-472-2348 or [email protected].
