Healthcare Partnership Spotlight: Lee Health

Larry Antonucci, M.D., MBA, President & CEO, serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President for Lee Health.

Dr. Antonucci was a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist who joined the Lee Health Medical Staff in 1983. He joined Lee Health in 2007 as Chief Administrative Officer for the health system’s Cape Coral Hospital. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Hospital Services in 2009 and assumed responsibility for Physician Services in 2010. In October 2011, he was named Chief Operating Officer for the health system, and in June 2017, he became President & CEO.

Tell us about your company/organization:
Lee Health has been Southwest Florida’s major destination for healthcare since 1916. What started as a two-story, four-room, 10-bed wooden hospital is now a comprehensive healthcare system comprised of four acute hospitals, two specialty hospitals, three skilled nursing units, seven outpatient centers, more than 1,000 primary and specialty care physicians and advanced providers in more than 100 practice locations throughout Southwest Florida.

Committed to continuous growth and improvement, we have shifted and expanded our facilities, offerings, services and programs as Southwest Florida’s population has grown and the demographics have changed. We continue to build on our legacy of caring for, serving and meeting the needs of our community, and we do so every day and night through more than 2 million patient contacts each year.

Additionally, we are the largest employer in Lee County – a proud team of more than 15,000 and the grateful beneficiaries of the support of more than 4,000 volunteers and auxilians.

We invite you to learn more about Lee Health at www.LeeHealth.org, including our commitment to addressing the healthcare needs of our community – as guided by our Community Health Needs Assessment – which you can read about in our Community Benefit Reports (search ‘Community Benefit’ on our website).

What is your biggest concern related to healthcare in Florida?
Healthcare is a people business – we need people dedicated to providing hands-on, leading-edge, compassionate care to other people, so staffing shortages are a challenge that our state – and country – is facing that concerns me. It is a complex issue with several contributing factors, notably:

• An aging population – which means there are increasing numbers of older people requiring care, but it also means that older healthcare professionals are retiring.
• Burnout – this in and of itself concerns me. While certainly rewarding, healthcare is a demanding career and burnout has been a challenge that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

The staffing shortages lead to other challenges, including competition with other healthcare systems, hospitals and providers for talent and access and capacity issues for patients to see the physicians and providers they need.

Why did you join the Healthcare Partnership and what impact is the Partnership having on outcomes in Florida?
The Healthcare Partnership brings together businesses of every size and every industry to help address healthcare related issues, and through which, we can join with business leaders in shaping the discussion around healthcare policy and delivery. Employers and employees have unique needs when accessing the healthcare marketplace. Costs, outcomes, and access to healthcare are things we believe require robust conversations and solutions. In balancing the unique needs of the people and institutions we serve, including businesses, we want to share a message that best represents the solutions we all need.