Bill Text: FL S0726 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Mariners Hospital
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-29 - Adopted -SJ 721 [S0726 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-S0726-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2012 (NP) SR 726
By Senator Bullard
39-00738-12 2012726__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing the 50th Anniversary of
3 Mariners Hospital.
4
5 WHEREAS, in the late 1950s, Miami surgeon Nathaniel Levin,
6 M.D., began visiting the Upper Florida Keys to fish, enjoy the
7 water, and relax, ultimately purchasing a home on Plantation
8 Key, and
9 WHEREAS, when word reached local residents that Dr. Levin
10 was spending time at his Plantation Key vacation home, they
11 would go to his home seeking medical attention that was
12 otherwise unavailable to them locally, and
13 WHEREAS, in 1962, Dr. Levin founded the for-profit Overseas
14 Hospital on property he owned next to his home, and, in May
15 1962, admitted the hospital’s first patient, and
16 WHEREAS, in October 1962, the original 5,000-square-foot,
17 nine-bed hospital was expanded to accommodate more beds and to
18 include storage, dining, and kitchen facilities, and
19 WHEREAS, in 1966, Dr. Levin sold the now 14-bed hospital to
20 surgeon Stanford Setnor, M.D., who changed its name to Keys
21 Community Hospital, and
22 WHEREAS, in the late 1960s, community leaders formed the
23 Keys Community Foundation, which spearheaded efforts to convert
24 the hospital to not-for-profit status, and
25 WHEREAS, when fundraising efforts stalled and a referendum
26 to create a special taxing district failed, the hospital was
27 sold to American Medical Affiliates, which, on February 20,
28 1972, dedicated a million-dollar expansion that brought the
29 total number of beds to 42 and included a four-bed coronary care
30 unit, two new operating rooms, and an expanded emergency room,
31 and
32 WHEREAS, shortly after the expansion, the hospital began a
33 period of financial decline leading to its near closure in early
34 1979, and
35 WHEREAS, the formation of a “Save our Hospital” committee
36 in April 1979, led to the creation of the not-for-profit Keys
37 Hospital Foundation, which won support for a bond issue that
38 allowed the hospital to remain open, and
39 WHEREAS, on June 10, 1980, the newly christened Mariners
40 Hospital became a community-owned, not-for-profit hospital, and
41 WHEREAS, the hospital continued to face financial
42 challenges and, in May 1984, voters approved a special taxing
43 district to support the continued operation of the facility,
44 which purchased new equipment and expanded its services, and
45 WHEREAS, the expanded services and greater community
46 support allowed Mariners Hospital to thrive and to seek funding
47 to expand to a new location, and
48 WHEREAS, in December 1994, Mariners Hospital entered into a
49 merger agreement with Baptist Health Care, which opened a new
50 $18.5 million, 72,000-square-foot facility in February 1999, and
51 WHEREAS, in 2010, Mariners Hospital became a 25-bed
52 critical access hospital and continues to provide a wide array
53 of high-quality medical services to the community, NOW,
54 THEREFORE,
55
56 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
57
58 That the members of the Florida Senate recognize Mariners
59 Hospital on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary and express
60 appreciation for its commitment to excellence in providing
61 health care services to residents of the Florida Keys.
