Lee Health nursing shortage tips scales in students’ favor

FORT MYERS, Fla. A shortfall for Lee Health is encouraging news for Southwest Florida nursing students.

Lee Health is looking for nurses to fill 164 nursing vacancies. That’s a boon for students like Sarah Flannagan, who attends Florida SouthWestern State College.

“There’s always going to be the possibility of a job,” she said.

The hospital system hires 97 percent of its nurses from local college and universities.

“The pipeline is open right from school into lee health,” Lee Health Clinical Education Specialist Dr. Maryanne Windey said. “And we work really diligently that they have a good transition from student to professional nurses.”

The shortage is not without its consequences — the Gulf Coast Medical Center emergency room was so overcrowded in February that Lee Health publicly pleaded with patients to go to other facilities. Nursing shortages affect hospitals around the country, but the continued growth of Lee County makes the issue especially pressing locally.

“We’re always hiring and looking for individuals locally across the state and nationally,” Lee Health Recruitment and Retention Specialist Kristy Rigot said.

The average salary for a Lee Health nurse is between $57,000 to $61,000.