Dozens of hospital employees, Lee Health executives and leaders, and all that lent a hand in making the expansion a possibility gathered in the newly expanded ICU at Cape Coral Hospital with smiles from ear to ear Monday afternoon. The ICU has now expanded to 34 patient beds, and has increased its dialysis from four to six units. By CJ HADDAD

Lee Health’s continued progress towards serving a larger number of Cape residents took a leap Monday morning, as the ribbon was cut for an expansion of the ICU unit at Cape Coral Hospital.

Dozens of hospital employees, Lee Health executives and leaders, and all that lent a hand in making the expansion a possibility gathered in the newly renovated wing with smiles from ear to ear.

The Intensive Care Unit has now expanded to 34 patient beds, and has increased its dialysis from four to six units.

“This day is exciting for Lee Health. It’s exciting for Cape Coral and the community,” said Lee Health President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Larry Antonucci. “Intensive care is something that’s so critical to what we do every day, and with the growth of this community, it was important that we expand to meet the needs of the community. We’re excited about the growth in Cape Coral, and have a lot of exciting projects in the works.”

The expansion adds 11,190 square feet of vertical space over an exiting MRI and ultrasound area. Officials said in addition to adding 12 ICU rooms and staff support areas with a tie-in to the existing second floor, there will be a first-of-its-kind HVAC pandemic mode that allows the new addition to become its own negative pressure wing, expanding isolation patient space in the event of a widespread infectious disease.

“This is a state-of-the-art facility,” Antonucci said. “The rooms are big. They can fit patients with family, and a lot of the equipment we need as we take care of folks.”

Nursing Director of the ICU and Critical Care outreach Heather Kingery was on-hand to cut the ribbon alongside countless colleagues, all expressing their gratitude and joy for the moment.

“There’s a need for more critical care beds, and we are very excited to be able to fulfill that need by adding 12 beds to our department,” Kingery said.

When it comes to what possibilities this new expansion will present the hospital and its patients, Kingery said all avenues are open.

“We know that we have neurosurgical service lines here, we have orthopedic service line here and so those beds provide an opportunity for those patients, whether they are here with the most critical illness to receive those services, (or) we can also hold those patients through discharge as well. So it really helps our whole facility by adding these beds.

“There’s a space for our residents…it also opens opportunity for the most advanced equipment.”

Antonucci added, “The exiting thing is with our Cape Coral Internal Medicine Program here, we’re bringing in young doctors, and they’re always pushing us to do newer things. This facility, the big advantage to it, is the facility itself. Things like Florida ceiling heights, which allows us to do a lot more technology. The size of the rooms themselves, so that they’re ready for the newest technology coming down, such as artificial intelligence, which we know will be a big part of medicine moving forward.”

Antonucci also noted that while the hospital is always providing the care that needs to be done, the expansion will alleviate challenges with space that have occurred in the past.

“That’s why there are times we may have to hold people in the emergency department longer,” he said. “What this will do is allow us to get those patients out of the ED quicker and get them into the right setting.”

To further support the needs of the growing population, Lee Health has a number of other patient-focused projects in the works in Cape Coral.

In 2023, Cape Coral Hospital added six new vertical bays to its Emergency Department to bring a more “comfortable and private” space for patients to be seen and to expedite treatments.

Officials said the Surfside Medical Facility is slated to be completed this year. It will be home to orthopedics, endocrinology, rheumatology and rehabilitation specialists.

Lee Health will also provide medical services in the new Bimini Square building in Cape Coral when it opens in 2025, including primary care, cardiology services, imaging, breast health, lab services, pediatric primary care and behavioral health services.

“We’re congenitally growing what we already do great,” Kingery said. “We already provide exceptional care. We have exceptional team members and nurses. Now we’re just able to build that team to be bigger and really reach out to a bigger part of the community.”

For more information on the Cape Coral Hospital ICU expansion, visit www.leehealth.org.