It has now been one week since Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County. While power is returning for many southwest Florida residents hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses remain without power — especially on the barrier islands. All of Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva and Pine have now power and there is just now way to estimate when service can be restored. More than 36,000 LCEC customers in North Fort Myers and more than 81,000 in Cape Coral are still in the dark.
We check in with someone from the Town of Fort Myers Beach to get a sense of what they’re facing. We get the latest on restoration work being done by LCEC. We get some information about how loans through the federal Small Business Administration work. We talk with someone from Lee Health to see how its facilities fared during the storm and what services are back up and running. And we touch base with Dr. Christopher Bernier, superintendent of the School District of Lee County.
GUESTS:
- Jennifer Dexter, Public Information Officer for the Town of Fort Myers Beach
- Karen Ryan, Public Relations Director for LCEC
- Julie Garrett from the U.S. Small Business Administration
- Dr. Christopher Bernier, superintendent of The School District of Lee County
- Dr. Scott Nygaard, Chief Operating Officer at Lee Health
For those individuals without internet access, you can utilize Lee TeleHealth by phone. Call 855-635-1393 and they will coordinate a phone visit with a physician for you. As a reminder, Lee TeleHealth is free for the foreseeable future. This service is also accessible from a smartphone, tablet or computer with a webcam by visiting https://www.leetelehealth.org/landing.htm.
Click here for information about applying for an SBA loan.