Officials announce new 216-bed hospital to meet population surge

FORT MYERS — One of the fastest-growing areas in Florida — Fort Myers — is on the cusp of getting a surefire sign of a population surge: a new hospital, what could potentially be a five-year project.

The board overseeing Lee Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in Florida, recently decided to move forward with a new hospital campus in Fort Myers. It’s on a 52-acre site along Challenger Boulevard, between Colonial Boulevard and Winkler Avenue. The project, tentatively known as the Lee Health Colonial Campus, according to a statement, will include an acute care hospital with 216 beds; 16 operating rooms; an emergency department with 30 emergency room bays; and a 16-bed observation unit.