$30 million in incentives approved for new hospital
An incentive package of more than $30 million was passed Wednesday night for Fawcett Memorial Hospital Inc.
The economic development incentive agreement is between the city and Fawcett Memorial Hospital Inc. for the construction of an acute care hospital at 322 SW Pine Island Road.
The incentives include Job Creation Incentive Funding up to a maximum amount of $5,250,000, Site Development Assistance Incentive funding up to a maximum of $6,000,000, Enhanced Property Value Recapture Grant funding up to a maximum amount of $17,900,000, and Impact Fees assistance up to a maximum of $1,800,000. The total dollar value is $30,950,000.
Councilmember Jennifer Nelson-Lastra pulled the consent agenda item, Resolution 301-26, for discussion because she wanted to pause the matter to see what happens with Amendment 3 in the General Election. She also said Fawcett Memorial Hospital is a multi-million company, as she was not comfortable in utilizing tax dollars for a company that is in direct competition with Lee Health.
She received no second for her motion.
Chris Lopez, with Lee Health, spoke during citizen’s input about the wonderful things they are doing and the promises they continue to keep for the community. He asked the council to consider pushing the resolution off to see the outcome of Amendment 3.
Lopez said the numbers are interesting as in how the city would be impacted by $31.1 million in year one by Amendment 3 is almost identical to the $30.9 million in incentives.
Another motion was put on the table from Councilmember Laurie Lehmann to table it until Nov. 19, when the new council is sworn into office. That motion did not gain traction either.
“When it comes to health, welfare and safety of our city, this rises to the very top compared to other incentives that we provide,” Mayor John Gunter said.
He said they went to the CEO of Lee Health and they told the city they did not have a desire to build a hospital in the city of Cape Coral.
“I am the one that reached out to HCA and started that discussion. They worked with city staff and came up with an incentive program. If it wasn’t for this incentive program, they would have picked the other city. This is why they are here,” Gunter said. “This is probably the most important incentive package we should be offering.”
Lee Memorial has 304 hospital beds for a city that has 225,000 people, he said.
Gunter shared the Florida average for hospital beds per 1,000 population is 2.48 beds.
“We are supposed to have 558 beds,” he said. “That is based on 225,000 people we have today.”
It takes two years to build a hospital, Gunter said, which the population of Cape Coral will increase in that time frame.
“Lee Health told us no. That meant we had to go somewhere else,” he said.
Councilmember Rachel Kaduk said a second hospital was on the board for all council members.
“These are high paying jobs coming to our area,” she said of the very important, well-educated jobs.
After the discussion Nelson-Lastra changed her vote.
“OK, you convinced me. We need a second hospital. It makes complete sense. It’s what you are giving and getting back,” she said.
The resolution had unanimous support.
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Lee Health reaffirms commitment to the Cape
The Breeze reached out to Lee Health to respond to questions in related to Wednesday’s Cape Coral City Council discussion on incentives for Fawcett Memorial Hospital Inc.
The questions asked were:
Did the city and/or Major John Gunter meet with Lee Health officials on the city’s desire to have a second hospital built in the city or to have the current facility expanded?
Did Lee Health express that it has no desire to do so?
The following response was provided by Michael Nachef, Lee Health chief of staff:
“Lee Health shares the city’s goal of expanding access to healthcare in Cape Coral. As we shared with city leaders, Lee Health is making significant investments in Cape Coral to expand capacity, address growing demand and improve access to care. While that approach did not align with the city’s immediate desire for a second acute care hospital, our commitment to growing healthcare services in Cape Coral remains strong.
“We have built an acute care hospital-at-home program that has treated nearly 550 Cape Coral residents, expanded the Emergency Department and ICU at Cape Coral Hospital, added an urgent care center in South Cape Coral, and expanded pediatric, imaging and behavioral health services at Bimini Basin. We are also building a more than 100,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility on Veterans Parkway that will complement Cape Coral Hospital and strengthen access to care for the community. Beyond these significant investments, Lee Health owns land in Cape Coral and has additional plans for future growth.
“Our opposition to the proposed tax abatement has never been about opposing another hospital. More healthcare options for Cape Coral residents are a positive development. The question is whether Cape Coral taxpayers should forgo $31 million in tax revenue to incentivize a national, for-profit hospital that was already planned for the site. For a company that reported nearly $6.8 billion in net profit last year, a $31 million tax incentive represents less than 1% of annual profits. For Cape Coral taxpayers, it is 30% of the city’s annual property tax revenue. We believe Cape Coral residents deserve both expanded access to care and responsible stewardship of public resources.”
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email mbradbury@breezenewspapers.com