On Sunday, drivers will have a whole new meaning this weekend when Lee County Emergency Medical Services leads the transport of all remaining patients at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center to the new addition at Gulf Coast Medical Center. Lehigh’s Fire and Rescue Dept. will be among those helping.

Traffic delays may be abundant all day and into the evening as ambulances repeatedly travel Winkler, Metro and Daniels carefully and quickly moving all the ill and injured patients, a spokesman with Lee Health Systems said.

“The ambulances, an emergency transport bus and a wheel chair van will enter most intersections pre-set with yellow flashing lights to allow for optimal traffic flow on the roads and creating the most comfort for their patients,” said Lt. Doug Higgins, the hospital move operations chief. “Church-goers and other Sunday drivers need to be very patient or avoid the Winkler, Metro, Daniels area.”

Lee County EMS will coordinate the transportation of patients in as many as 28 vehicles from nine agencies beginning early Sunday morning and continuing into the evening until all patients are in the new hospital. It’s estimated that each ambulance could take as many as 10 round trips, Higgins said.

Volunteering to help with the transfers are Collier County EMS, Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District, Hendry County EMS, Glades County EMS, Lehigh Fire Rescue, Seminole Tribe EMS, Sartin Services and Healthpark Care Center Transport Van.

In addition, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is assisting by adjusting most traffic lights to favor the ambulance travel. Intersections where lights are not set to flash, will have officers present to prevent traffic back ups and ambulance delays.

Regular EMS operations will continue with a slightly smaller crew than on most Sundays, but there will be no reduction in services.

“We’re not going to allow daily operations to suffer to make this move,” said Chief Kim Dickerson, EMS operations manager. “We will watch all resources and adjust accordingly throughout the day to accommodate all emergency needs. That is always our first priority.”

EMS is also testing its Mass Casualty Incident plan with this move in order to validate the policies and procedures already in place.