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Lee Memorial Health System to mark turning 100 years old

By Staff | Feb 17, 2016

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN Nursing staff.

Lee Memorial Health System marks 100 years of caring for our community in 2016.

The birth of Lee Memorial Health System’s 100 years of service and care can be traced to one of the most colorful events in Florida history. It involved 150 men working by the light of a bonfire, a shotgun-toting county commissioner and a 3-2 vote by the Lee County Commission in 1914.

All those things led to the creation of Lee County’s first hospital, which opened on Oct. 3, 1916 as a two-story wood frame facility with four rooms, 15 beds and, of course, no air conditioning.

The system has grown with the community to now include 1,426 licensed beds in four acute care hospitals, two specialty hospitals including the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, multiple outpatient centers, walk-in clinics, primary care and specialty physician practices.

The wood to build the first hospital was acquired by those 150 men when they disassembled the county’s first courthouse. The county wanted to build a new courthouse and the county commission voted to do that.

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN Lee Memorial Health System.

But a faction opposed it and sought a court injunction to stop the project. Commissioner Bill Towles, though, gathered 150 men, who worked by the light of a bonfire as the commissioner held a shotgun and sat nearby.

The old courthouse was torn down on Oct. 26, 1914. Two years later, that lumber became the first Lee Memorial Hospital.

The original hospital was located at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Grand Avenue in Fort Myers. The 1910 census listed Lee County with 6,294 residents.

Today, the health care system employs 11,800 people and provides care for Lee County residents, and has become a regional health care resource for many families through Southwest Florida.

Lee Memorial Health System’s centennial celebration will continue a theme that has been a hospital hallmark from the beginning – caring people, caring for people.

The system will host HealthFest 2016 on Feb. 21 at CenturyLink Sports Complex, with the Minnesota Twins’ open house.

Here are some highlights of the system’s colorful past:

– First patient: Sam Thompson rode a horse from LaBelle in 1916 because he was in pain and knew where to go for help – the new hospital. He needed an appendectomy and a surgeon performed an operation by kerosene lamp. The operation was a success.

– First baby: The first baby born in Lee Memorial was James Fielder Allred, who arrived on March 3, 1917, six months to the day after the hospital opened. He grew up to become an orthodontist in Pensacola. Since then, thousands of babies entered the world at Lee Memorial Hospital, including pro football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann.

– Business impact: Lee Memorial Health System is Southwest Florida’s largest employer, according to the Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance. Those employees in turn go out and buy homes, cars and clothes and dine in local restaurants, creating an immense economic tidal wave. At 100, it is also one of the area’s oldest businesses.

– Medical advances: A century of worldwide medical advances have also benefited Lee County residents. When Lee Memorial opened in 1916, basic life-saving services and care were available – husbands weren’t even allowed to be with wives as they gave birth. Today, Lee Memorial Health System offers world-class health care with highly specialized services in cardiac, neurosciences, oncology, orthopedics, neonatal, pediatrics and trauma, to name a few.

Source: Lee Memorial Health System

Lee Memorial Health System to mark turning 100 years old

By Staff | Feb 17, 2016

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN Nursing staff.

Lee Memorial Health System marks 100 years of caring for our community in 2016.

The birth of Lee Memorial Health System’s 100 years of service and care can be traced to one of the most colorful events in Florida history. It involved 150 men working by the light of a bonfire, a shotgun-toting county commissioner and a 3-2 vote by the Lee County Commission in 1914.

All those things led to the creation of Lee County’s first hospital, which opened on Oct. 3, 1916 as a two-story wood frame facility with four rooms, 15 beds and, of course, no air conditioning.

The system has grown with the community to now include 1,426 licensed beds in four acute care hospitals, two specialty hospitals including the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, multiple outpatient centers, walk-in clinics, primary care and specialty physician practices.

The wood to build the first hospital was acquired by those 150 men when they disassembled the county’s first courthouse. The county wanted to build a new courthouse and the county commission voted to do that.

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN Lee Memorial Health System.

But a faction opposed it and sought a court injunction to stop the project. Commissioner Bill Towles, though, gathered 150 men, who worked by the light of a bonfire as the commissioner held a shotgun and sat nearby.

The old courthouse was torn down on Oct. 26, 1914. Two years later, that lumber became the first Lee Memorial Hospital.

The original hospital was located at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Grand Avenue in Fort Myers. The 1910 census listed Lee County with 6,294 residents.

Today, the health care system employs 11,800 people and provides care for Lee County residents, and has become a regional health care resource for many families through Southwest Florida.

Lee Memorial Health System’s centennial celebration will continue a theme that has been a hospital hallmark from the beginning – caring people, caring for people.

The system will host HealthFest 2016 on Feb. 21 at CenturyLink Sports Complex, with the Minnesota Twins’ open house.

Here are some highlights of the system’s colorful past:

– First patient: Sam Thompson rode a horse from LaBelle in 1916 because he was in pain and knew where to go for help – the new hospital. He needed an appendectomy and a surgeon performed an operation by kerosene lamp. The operation was a success.

– First baby: The first baby born in Lee Memorial was James Fielder Allred, who arrived on March 3, 1917, six months to the day after the hospital opened. He grew up to become an orthodontist in Pensacola. Since then, thousands of babies entered the world at Lee Memorial Hospital, including pro football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann.

– Business impact: Lee Memorial Health System is Southwest Florida’s largest employer, according to the Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance. Those employees in turn go out and buy homes, cars and clothes and dine in local restaurants, creating an immense economic tidal wave. At 100, it is also one of the area’s oldest businesses.

– Medical advances: A century of worldwide medical advances have also benefited Lee County residents. When Lee Memorial opened in 1916, basic life-saving services and care were available – husbands weren’t even allowed to be with wives as they gave birth. Today, Lee Memorial Health System offers world-class health care with highly specialized services in cardiac, neurosciences, oncology, orthopedics, neonatal, pediatrics and trauma, to name a few.

Source: Lee Memorial Health System

Lee Memorial Health System to mark turning 100 years old

By Staff | Feb 17, 2016

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN Nursing staff.

Lee Memorial Health System marks 100 years of caring for our community in 2016.

The birth of Lee Memorial Health System’s 100 years of service and care can be traced to one of the most colorful events in Florida history. It involved 150 men working by the light of a bonfire, a shotgun-toting county commissioner and a 3-2 vote by the Lee County Commission in 1914.

All those things led to the creation of Lee County’s first hospital, which opened on Oct. 3, 1916 as a two-story wood frame facility with four rooms, 15 beds and, of course, no air conditioning.

The system has grown with the community to now include 1,426 licensed beds in four acute care hospitals, two specialty hospitals including the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, multiple outpatient centers, walk-in clinics, primary care and specialty physician practices.

The wood to build the first hospital was acquired by those 150 men when they disassembled the county’s first courthouse. The county wanted to build a new courthouse and the county commission voted to do that.

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN Lee Memorial Health System.

But a faction opposed it and sought a court injunction to stop the project. Commissioner Bill Towles, though, gathered 150 men, who worked by the light of a bonfire as the commissioner held a shotgun and sat nearby.

The old courthouse was torn down on Oct. 26, 1914. Two years later, that lumber became the first Lee Memorial Hospital.

The original hospital was located at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Grand Avenue in Fort Myers. The 1910 census listed Lee County with 6,294 residents.

Today, the health care system employs 11,800 people and provides care for Lee County residents, and has become a regional health care resource for many families through Southwest Florida.

Lee Memorial Health System’s centennial celebration will continue a theme that has been a hospital hallmark from the beginning – caring people, caring for people.

The system will host HealthFest 2016 on Feb. 21 at CenturyLink Sports Complex, with the Minnesota Twins’ open house.

Here are some highlights of the system’s colorful past:

– First patient: Sam Thompson rode a horse from LaBelle in 1916 because he was in pain and knew where to go for help – the new hospital. He needed an appendectomy and a surgeon performed an operation by kerosene lamp. The operation was a success.

– First baby: The first baby born in Lee Memorial was James Fielder Allred, who arrived on March 3, 1917, six months to the day after the hospital opened. He grew up to become an orthodontist in Pensacola. Since then, thousands of babies entered the world at Lee Memorial Hospital, including pro football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann.

– Business impact: Lee Memorial Health System is Southwest Florida’s largest employer, according to the Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance. Those employees in turn go out and buy homes, cars and clothes and dine in local restaurants, creating an immense economic tidal wave. At 100, it is also one of the area’s oldest businesses.

– Medical advances: A century of worldwide medical advances have also benefited Lee County residents. When Lee Memorial opened in 1916, basic life-saving services and care were available – husbands weren’t even allowed to be with wives as they gave birth. Today, Lee Memorial Health System offers world-class health care with highly specialized services in cardiac, neurosciences, oncology, orthopedics, neonatal, pediatrics and trauma, to name a few.

Source: Lee Memorial Health System