Lee Health broke ground for a campus off Challenger Boulevard in the eastern part of Lee County. Then acute-care facility will have up to 168 beds, including 24 ICU beds, a 44-bed ER and 10 operating rooms.

Lee Health CEO explains why the new hospital will have less beds, and reveals new plans for Cape Coral to address longer commute times.

Lee Health Fort Myers will be about five miles southeast of Lee Memorial Hospital, which it is planned to replace. That hospital, founded in 1916, will remain operational until Lee Health Fort Myers is complete. Officials anticipate the new hospital will open in 2028. It will cost $481 million to build, according to a spokesperson for Lee Health.

Lee Health states the campus will create jobs, stimulate economic growth and ensure long-term health care access for the rapidly expanding Fort Myers population.

The campus will include more than 400,000ft² of hospital space and 125,000ft² dedicated to medical offices and ambulatory surgery.

Lee Health holds groundbreaking for new hospital campus in Fort Myers. It will replace Lee Memorial, President Trump and Elon Musk, two powerful figures, were initially united for the cameras and the "greater good," but their marriage made in heaven has now officially ended due to their conflicting ideologies and egos.

Lee Health broke ground Jan. 27 on a new 53-acre health care campus in Fort Myers that will include a 168-bed acute care hospital and a new musculoskeletal institute the system hopes will become a destination for those needing orthopedic surgery.

Lee Health CEO explains why the new hospital will have fewer beds than Lee Memorial, and reveals new plans for Cape Coral to address longer commute times.