Residents in south Lee County will have another option come fall for emergency medical care.
Officials with HCA Florida Lehigh Hospital broke ground Jan. 28 on a freestanding emergency room at 16944 Vintage Commerce Blvd. The location is on the north side of Alico Road and east of Three Oaks Parkway. The project cost is $21.5 million for the 11,000-square-foot center.
Opening is planned for this fall.
The ER will be open 24 hours and offer full-service emergency care, including laboratory, x-rays, CT scanning and ultrasound capabilities. It will have 11 exam rooms.
The project is a testament to HCA’s commitment to provide advanced and accessible healthcare services for the growing population of the county and the immediate area, HCA officials say.
“This is an exciting day for our hospital and our community,” Paige Laughlin, chief executive officer of HCA Florida Lehigh Hospital, said. “The Alico emergency center is a significant step forward in expanding our footprint and ensuring our growing region has access to timely, high-quality emergency care close to home.”
An HCA spokeswoman declined to say if the company is moving forward with a plan announced as far back as 2021 to build a 100-bed hospital at 3851 Colonial Blvd. in Fort Myers.
Lee County Commissioner David Mulicka, spoke about the rapid population growth in the region and demand for more healthcare services.
“As one of the fastest‑growing cities in the nation, our community needs strong infrastructure, including quality healthcare,” Mulicka said in a news release. “We are grateful to HCA Florida Healthcare for investing in the health and future of our residents. This emergency center will bring greater access to care and new opportunities for local professionals.”
Lee Health, a nonprofit hospital system in Lee, operates an emergency department in Estero at 23450 Via Coconut Point.
Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) based in Collier operates a freestanding emergency room in Bonita Springs at 24040 Tamiami Trail.
For-profit HCA operates 50 hospitals in Florida but its presence is broader with 650 affiliated sites that include freestanding ERs, surgery centers, and clinics.
For the fourth quarter of 2025, the Nashville-based HCA reported revenue of $19.5 billion.
HCA used to have a presence in Lee when it operated the long-ago-demolished Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center and what was formerly known as Gulf Coast Hospital. Lee Health acquired both in 2006 in a $535 million deal.
The background
HCA Florida Healthcare purchased the Lehigh hospital in 2025 with 53 beds. It was formerly Lehigh Regional Medical Center owned by California-based Prime Healthcare.
At the time of the closing HCA announced plans to build the freestanding emergency room on Alico.
HCA said it was investing $134.5 million in the county, which included the hospital acquisition, construction of a new freestanding emergency room on Alico, and two existing freestanding emergency rooms.
The two other freestanding ERs are in Cape Coral at 322 SW Pine Island Road and Fort Myers at 8919 College Pointe Court.
HCA also operates two ambulatory surgery centers and multiple MD Now urgent care centers in the county.
Since acquiring the Lehigh hospital, HCA has expanded acute care programs and increased the bed count to 88 beds, according to Deb McKell, an HCA spokeswoman.
Over the past year, the Lehigh hospital has cared for more than 34,000 patients and treated more than 29,000 patients in the emergency room, according to hospital officials. There were nearly 5,000 ambulance arrivals.
McKell declined to say if HCA is moving forward with a plan announced several years ago to build a 100-bed hospital at 3851 Colonial Blvd. in Fort Myers.
“We remain excited to serve the Southwest Florida community and will continue to evaluate opportunities that meet the area’s growing demand for high quality healthcare services,” McKell said.
The Lehigh hospital has launched its first robotic surgery program and expanded orthopedics and joint surgery services, McKell said.
Emergency care has also been strengthened with the addition of a fast track program to support patients with minor emergency needs, she said.
Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: HCA building ER south of Fort Myers but what happened to hospital?
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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