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As you may know, the Lee Health Board of Directors and Administration believe that it is in the best long-term interest of the citizens of Lee County to move to a community-based non-profit structure, which is how they operated for the first fifty years of their 107 year existence. The benefits are numerous.

The conversion allows Lee Health:

1. To remove its Health designation as a special district/government health system.
2. To eliminate the possibility of a future tax on Lee County citizens, a risk that could materialize if we continue as a government health system.
3. It will help maintain a low tax base, critical to the health system and the county’s continuing economic success.
4. It will safeguard the health system’s local control by continuing its governance with local leaders accountable for its not-for-profit status.
5. It will increase community partnerships to resolve issues related to EMS, parks and recreation, housing and homelessness, veteran services, and more.
6. Finally, removing the government from healthcare as much as possible would benefit Lee Health and our local healthcare economy immensely.

Lee Health will continue to serve ALL patients, remain community-led, not collect a tax, and remain competitive in a dynamic healthcare environment. This change will enable Lee Health to better partner with physicians, expand reach and impact, attract additional physicians and sub-specialists, and compete with new market competitors.

They believe this will reduce government involvement while protecting Lee Health’s best efforts for our community. All of this will be formalized in a Mission Agreement with Lee County, a comprehensive document that outlines the roles, responsibilities, and commitments of both parties in this transition.

Engage Estero supports this development. Our organization and Lee Health ask for your support in advocating this change with our Lee County Commissioners. Your support is crucial to the success of this transition.

If you agree that this will strengthen Lee Health and our community, we ask that you provide your support to the commissioners. We have attached some talking points along with two letter options to submit.

Thank you for supporting this change. We urge you to express your support to the Lee County Commissioners now.

For simplicity, the following is the best way to contact the Commissioners:

Kevin Ruane                Dist1@leegov.com
Cecil Pendergrass       Dist2@leegov.com
Ray Sandelli                Dist3@leegov.com
Brian Hamman             Dist4@leegov.com
Mike Greenwell          Dist5@leegov.com

Although you can write your version of the letter, you might like to consider the following options: making necessary changes to personalize it.