Need to catch up on business news in Southwest Florida? No problem. Here are the top stories of the week pulled from our daily newsletter, Gulfshore Business Daily.
Friday, Nov. 8
LEE HEALTH HOSPITALS EARN TOP SCORES FOR PATIENT SAFETY
Four Lee Health hospitals have earned “A” grades for patient safety for its second straight report card from The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2019 Hospital Safety Grades. Cape Coral Hospital, Gulf Coast Medical Center, HealthPark Medical Center and Lee Memorial Hospital each earned “A” grades—the highest possible ranking. In addition to all four campuses receiving the top grade, each hospital also improved its overall score from May’s report card. Leapfrog also publishes an annual list of the top children’s hospitals in the U.S. and has named Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida one of the 10 best in the country for the past three years. To learn more about Leapfrog’s Fall 2019 Hospital Safety Grades, visit http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/
Thursday, Nov. 7
FLORIDA SBDC AT FGCU HOSTS CAPITAL ACCESS SEMINAR FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
The Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf Coast University (SBDC at FGCU) will host a complimentary seminar to help Southwest Florida business owners to gain access to capital needed to grow their businesses. “How to Get Money to Grow your Business” takes place from 5-7 p.m. on Nov. 13 at IBERIABANK at the intersection of Summerlin and Winkler Roads. The participants will learn when and if they should grow their business, and where and how to get the funds if needed. This seminar will be led by Duane Hoversten, a certified FSBDC business consultant at FGCU and an entrepreneur. IBERIABANK is co-sponsoring this event. Admission is free, and light refreshments are included. For more information and to register to attend, click here.
Wednesday, Nov. 6
FLORIDA NAMED A TOP STATE FOR STARTUPS
Florida ranked No. 2 in the “Top 10 U.S. States For Startups” list by Comparisun. Florida received an overall score of 69.75, with a business survival rate of 49.50%.Comparisun compared each of the 50 U.S. states on criteria such as number of new business applications, rate of new entrepreneurs, corporate tax rate, labor cost, cost of living index and more. Each criterion was scored out of a total of 100, and these ratings were combined to reach a final weighted score out of 100. For more information, click here.
Tuesday, Nov. 5
LEE HEALTH TO PURCHASE NCH OWNERSHIP OF FACILITY
After almost two decades of co-ownership of Bonita Community Health Center (BCHC), Lee Health and NCH Healthcare System have reached an agreement whereby Lee Health will become the sole owner of the facility. Lee Health’s publicly-elected Board of Directors approved the purchase at its board meeting on Oct. 31. BCHC is a 100,000-square-foot facility with physician offices, urgent care center, diagnostics and imaging, surgery center and physical therapy services. It opened in December of 2000 as a joint operation of NCH and Lee Health with 50/50 ownership. Lee Health has no immediate operational changes planned at the time of acquisition. Patients will continue to see the same familiar physicians and providers and staffing changes are not anticipated. Bonita Community Health Center is located at 3501 Health Center Blvd. in Bonita Springs, just south of the intersection of U.S. 41 and Coconut Road.
April Mellott
