Cape Coral is a growing city with a population of 224,000 residents. It has only one hospital.
Founded in 1977 and absorbed into the Lee Health system in 1996, Cape Coral Hospital has been doing what it can to serve the needs of a rapidly growing community.
One of the largest issues the hospital faces is its size. With only 303 beds, It’s the smallest acute care hospital in the Lee Health system, which includes Lee Memorial Hospital, HealthPark Medical Center, and Gulf Coast Medical Center. And in the peak of seasonal tourism, the increased patient population is being felt.
Rebekah Jernstedt, the Chief Nursing Executive at Cape Coral Hospital, says that a big priority is keeping patients moving through the system. When there’s a smooth transition between patients moving in and patients moving out, she says, the whole system operates faster and more effectively even when they’re at capacity.
“We have different capacity management processes and policies that we follow when we get to a point where we’re full,” Jernstedt said. “We’ve really built processes in place to kind of look at that progression of care and really identify the best place for the patient to go next.”
Something that Lee Health wants to focus on is keeping patients out of the hospital when possible. In December 2024, it launched the Hospital at Home program, which allows patients to receive hospital-level care from their homes. After finding success with the program at Lee Memorial, the plan is to introduce it to other hospitals, including Cape Coral Hospital.
This program, Jernstedt says, will help to further facilitate that critical transition between incoming and outgoing patients. She also says that Hospital at Home will help get people out of the hospital sooner, and into their homes for recovery.
“One thing that we have heard loud and clear from a lot of our community members and patients is when they do have that need to come to the hospital, ‘do I have to stay in the hospital?’ And there are services that this Hospital at Home model can provide so that people can still receive that acute level of care within their own home,” she said.
Even with these programs in place, a big question for many in the community is when a second hospital will be built. With Cape Coral topping many snowbird destination lists and a population that grows 4% annually, some feel that it’s time. Myra Kincaid-Neyer, who took her mother to the emergency department just a few weeks ago, agrees.
“I think they should definitely have another hospital,” Kincaid-Neyer said. “The Cape is growing; the hospital is small.”
While Jernstedt can’t say when a new hospital would be built for the city, she says that Lee Health is constantly evaluating what needs need to be met within the community.
In the meantime, many Cape Coral residents are happy with how things are being run at the hospital. Nathan Byrne, whose wife was cared for in the maternity ward when they had their baby, said that they had a 10/10 experience.
“Rooms were spacious; doctors and the rest of the nurses were amazing,” Byrne said. “I would definitely go back.”
Kincaid-Neyer, whose mother came in with chest pain and shortness of breath, also had a great experience at the hospital.
“The staff was amazing,” she said. “They are always so attentive, friendly, and professional.”
While many residents have reacted positively to the hospital’s operations, others still have some concerns that they want addressed. Deborah Hobbs, a former healthcare worker, says that while she would never bash any healthcare system, as she ages, she struggles with choosing Cape Coral Hospital for her healthcare needs.
“[There’s] difficulty getting appointments, specialists can be months out,” Hobbs said. “I would really have to think depending on the need and weigh my options.”
Isleydis Garcia, who became anemic after her cesarean-section, says that as a first-time mom it was hard to speak up when she felt that something was wrong with her care, or when she requested formula for her baby over breastfeeding concerns.
“I won’t be visiting Cape Coral Hospital for my future births,” Garcia said. “I’ll probably go to Health Park.”
When trying to meet the needs of a city as densely populated as Cape Coral, there’s always more to do and more effective methods. Jernstedt, who’s been in the city since 2006, is proud of the work that the hospital has done to try to make the patient experience as positive as possible.
“I’m really very proud of all of the growth and everything that has been transitioned and transformed and has been done here at Cape Coral Hospital,” she said. “We’re going to work to be even more involved with our community, to really build that partnership even more.”
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