File Photo An early aerial photograph of the Cape Coral Hospital campus on Del Prado Boulevard.

An evolution of expansion and new programs encompasses the history of Cape Coral Hospital. As the city’s primary healthcare facility celebrates 43 years of serving the residents of Lee County, the hospital enjoys a remarkable past.

Much of that past will be on display when the Cape Coral Museum of History honors its beginnings with a special exhibit set to open to the public on Nov. 13 and continue through Jan. 9. There will be a VIP event to kick off the exhibit from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at the museum. On display will be 1970s nursing outfits, pins, physicians’ instruments and photographs, including ones of the first ambulances. There also will be a display documenting the heroic work of nurses and doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hospital’s history started in 1976. After a bond was issued, construction quickly began on the $8.5 million, 94-bed Cape Coral Medical Center. The hospital’s auxiliary also was started that year with 80 members and they quickly launched a $500,000 fundraising drive to help with the initial start-up costs.

The dedication of the hospital took place in 1977 with the glitz and glamour of a campaign ball at the German-American Club with area dignitaries and the auxiliary, which had grown to 360 members.

On July 5, 1977, the hospital began seeing its first patients as a full-scale facility complete with an around-the-clock emergency room. With Mike Ward overseeing operations as the first chief administrator, the non-profit hospital with a staff of 120 did not lack for business. Anticipating 3-4 walk-in patients a day, the hospital saw 106 in the first nine days and was at 40 percent capacity after the first three weeks.

The hospital was part of a $10 million complex, which also included a medical clinic, owned by local doctors, and a pharmacy.

The city was growing at such a rapid rate, it was hard for the hospital to keep up. Ward publicly acknowledged what he determined to be a healthcare crisis. In 1980, after recently being denied a certificate of need for 100 additional beds, the hospital’s occupancy rate was over 88 percent and they turned away 417 patients.

“It’s hard to figure out what’s going to happen around this place,” Ward told the Cape Coral Breeze. “It is scary.”

Expansion and services ratcheted up:

1981: Weekend testing and surgery is scheduled to meet the growing health needs of the community.

1982: Groundbreaking on a new 80-bed expansion of the hospital.

1983: 10 acres of land adjacent to the hospital is purchased for future expansion.

1985: A new $11 million wing opens for patients, as well as a new emergency room.

1986: The opening of the Lifetime Involvement in Fitness and Education (L.I.F.E.) Center.

1987: Groundbreaking of a new, two-story day surgery addition.

1988: Now with 700 employees, new birthing suites open at the hospital.

1989: A cardiac Cath lab opens thanks to a $100,000 donation from the auxiliary.

1990: The first cancer program, accredited by the American College of Surgeons, begins.

1991: A new fitness complex opens.

As the hospital celebrated its 35th anniversary in 1992, then chief administrative officer Scott Kashman said:

“This hospital is here for the community, created by the community and has served as the heart of the community.”

And 1993 welcomed possibly the biggest makeover at the hospital with a new 5-story addition, transforming the main entrance, creating a family birthplace facility and a Women’s Health Center. Following that expansion came the opening of the KidsPlace Pediatric Unit.

As the city crossed over 95,000 residents in 1996, it was time for the independently run facility to tap into stronger financial and medical resources. It merged with Lee Health and is now one of four acute care facilities in the health system with 291 beds.

The hospital continued to evolve adding a 10-bed neuroscience intermediate care unit in 2006 and 15 additional pediatric beds in 2007, thanks to a donation from the Lee Health Foundation.

It also became the city’s primary site for bioterrorism response and treatment in 2001.

The hospital’s history also is embraced with special moments of new life. In 1981, the first baby was born in the emergency room. Her name was Maggie Miller born to the parents of Bill and Sue Miller. The opening of the new birthing suites in 1988 also brought recognition for Lee Health’s current president and CEO Dr. Larry Antonucci. He delivered the first baby born there.

Submitted by Tom Hayden, a Cape Coral Museum of History board member. As we celebrate 50 years as a city, much of our area’s history, chronicled at the museum, will be featured twice a month in similar articles provided to the Cape Coral Breeze.