A task force led by Key West Vice Mayor Sam Kaufman to gather information and advice regarding the renewal process for the lease of the Lower Keys Medical Center, which is set to expire in five years, held its first meeting Friday, April 12, and Kaufman is urging local residents to attend the Lower Florida Keys Hospital District meeting on May 8.
The existing lease between Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS) and the Lower Florida Keys Hospital District will expire in 2029. The 30-year lease was initially put into place in 1999 with Health Management Associates, which was acquired in 2013 by Community Health Systems.
Kaufman called the lease renewal one of the most important issues currently facing the city and the Lower Keys.
“I do not want this lease agreement to be done behind closed doors and some deal that does not take into consideration a competitive bidding process,” Kaufman said. “The main point of this is for the lease to go out to competitive bid.”
The Key West City Commission briefly discussed Kaufman’s task force and the lease at its meeting on April 11. Commissioner Jimmy Weekley questioned whether Commissioner Kaufman should have formed the task force of a city function, as the committee will regularly meet at City Hall. Weekley questioned whether there “could be issues for us” talking about the lease or becoming involved, he said.
“Commissioner Kaufman can do this on his own and not get the city involved and let the hospital board do its thing,” Weekley said. “We don’t have a dog in this fight.”
Kaufman responded that as an attorney he is “aware of the liability issues,” and reminded Weekley that “we pass resolutions all of the time about state regulation and legislation,” he said. Kaufman was not lobbying for one company or another to obtain the lease, but “we have a voice,” he said.
“This is front-page news,” Kaufman said. “You and I living here depends on our access to healthcare.”
Key West Mayor Teri Johnston sided with Kaufman, saying that at a recent city retreat, the “No 1 issue discussed was access to healthcare.”
The Lower Keys Medical Center recently sent an email to The Keys Citizen outlining the role the hospital has played in the past year alone.
In the course of 2023, Lower Keys Medical Center played a vital role helping people get well and live healthier at more than 132,000 patient encounters across its hospital and growing network of Keys Medical Group physician clinics and other outpatient sites of care, the letter stated. At more than 23,000 emergency department visits last year, lifesaving medically necessary care was provided for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Lower Keys Medical Center provided more than $52 million in charity and uncompensated care for the community’s most vulnerable.
“Our caregivers play a crucial role in our community every day of the year,” David Clay, chief executive officer for Lower Keys Medical Center, stated in the email. “In the past several years, including Hurricane Irma and the pandemic, our team remained dedicated and determined to continue providing compassionate care, 24 hours a day.”
The hospital’s work to help address social determinants of health in the community includes financial donations to charitable organizations such as Wesley House Family Services, Samuel’s House and Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Keys, made in honor of LKMC’s medical staff on Doctors’ Day 2023. Hospital team members support numerous charitable and community events each year through sponsorships, donations and volunteers, according to Clay.
Civic resources and services are supported by Lower Keys Medical Center’s tax payments of more than $3 million and the payroll of more than $55 million ripples across the local economy as employees buy goods and services, according to Clay.
Workforce development remains a focus and strong relationships withThe College of the Florida Keys and Arcadia University provide nursing graduates and physician assistant students education and rotation opportunities, the letter stated. Financial commitments help team members achieve their personal and professional goals through assistance with student loan repayments, as well as tuition and housing assistance.
“We are committed to the Key West community and to renewing the lease for Lower Keys Medical Center,” Clay told The Keys Citizen. “I have spoken with many members of the community who expressed interest in the Task Force and share their commitment to maintaining quality, comprehensive health care in the Lower Keys.”
More than $47 million has been invested in our hospital facility and the services we provide since 2016, which resulted in doubling the capacity of the inpatient behavioral health unit, recruitment of specialists to Keys Medical Group, the opening of a new cardiac catheterization lab and a new women’s imaging center. Other investments have been made to upgrade medical technology.
Recruitment remains a priority in Keys Medical Group, particularly for providers in specialties that aren’t commonly found in a small community like ours. In addition to our providers in primary care, obstetrics and gynecology. orthopedics, gastroenterology, cardiology and psychiatry, we recently have recruited a gastroenterology nurse practitioner, a cardiologist, an orthopedic surgeon and orthopedic physician assistant, an OBGyn, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, an internal medicine nurse practitioner, a primary care provider, an otolaryngologist/ENT, and a pulmonologist, Clay said.
The hospital’s recently released Community Benefit Report includes details about the other ways we provide value in Key West, including as an employer with an annual payroll of more than $55 million, through $3.4 million in taxes paid, and through charity and uncompensated care totaling more than $52 million last year, according to Clay.
“We remain devoted to serving the healthcare needs of the people who live in this community and we look forward to outlining more about our future plans in the weeks and months ahead,” Clay said.
Key West resident Spencer Krenke has started a parallel grassroots effort to make sure the Lower Keys are served by a healthcare company that can best serve the community. Krenke has started the group Our Hospital Key West (https://www.ohkw.org/) that outlines concerns about the CHS’s financial position and the community’s need for a well-operated local hospital in a rural area like the Lower Keys.
Krenke is not advocating for or against CHS or any specific healthcare provider, but wants to see “comparative offers from providers detailing what services they can provide,” so the hospital board can make the best decision in selecting a healthcare company, he said.
Krenke has also called on the hospital board to conduct a “competitive bid process,” he said.
“We want to bring information to the public so objective comparative offers from hospital groups can be made. You need comparative offers on what services other providers can provide,” he has told The Citizen.
The Our Hospital Key West website has links to various online financial statements and news stories about the Tennessee-based CHS, which raises concerns about the hospital’s financial strength.
The May 8 Hospital District board meeting will start at 2:30 p.m. with the board’s Finance Committee meeting in the Lower Keys Medical Center board room and the regular board meeting will follow at 3.
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