My Priorities if elected are the ensure the continued success for Lee Health as a leader is the public health sector in the State of Florida. To ensure every resident in Lee County has access to public health and emergency care.
I am Doctor of Chiropractic for 20 years & and MBA in Executive Management, I have extensive experience in administrating multi-care out-patient clinic, done extensive volunteer work in the healthcare field and community advocacy to keep Lee County one of the most desirable places to live in the country. My experiences as a healthcare practitioner gained expertise in healthcare administration, fiscal management and patient communication, understanding clinical procedures and protocols.
I have training in Hospital Procedures & Protocols and in Infection Control. My volunteer work as a Chiropractor in the hospital setting where I was on call in the Emergency room to attend to patients who sustained soft-tissue injuries and acute fractures has made me become well versed as a Healthcare provider in the Hospital setting.
The Chiropractors on call were able to provide their expertise in musculoskeletal complaints to help better manage patients with injuries who were admitted to the hospital .
I think the biggest challenges facing Lee Health are Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency. Lee Health’s success as a public health entity has been duly noted by the community and even Governor Desantis. Ealrier this year, Lee Health received the Sterling award in which Lee Health is the only Public Health System to given the Sterling award in the State of Florida. However, some executives and Board members at Lee Health don’t seem satisfied or proudly recognize their achievements as a public health system but rather say we need to go private based on their claims that “ we need to compete with other private healthcare entities”. It should be crystal clear that certain leaders of Lee Health have not been transparent with the public about the true reasons why they feel they must quickly convert. In addition, the conversion to a private entity would eliminate audit requirements, financial discloses and FOIL requests of any budget and financial information to the public. Once a public entity goes private they are not subject to Florida sunshine law but rather only to Florida Business Law, which comes with a lot of privacy rights and fiscal protection. Since I would be elected by the public my job as a Lee Health Board member will be to best serve the publics health interests. My opponents are not seeking your vote and if they were it would under false pretenses because they already voted “yes” to go private. They are interested in your input but I am.
Lee Health is a multi-billon dollar public health system. Although Lee Health has already delivered quality care services within the community. I believe that is always room for improvement. Lee Health Board needs to create Health and Well-ness sub-committees where appointed Lee County Residents act as liaisons to help engage the public and assist the Board in future Healthcare needs as Lee County Continues to grow.
If Lee Health is privatized, they can change their policies and mission statement at any time without any public knowledge or input. However, all practicing healthcare professionals are required to deliver a standard of care from the oath they have taken when they became a physician. Whether Lee Health remains public or becomes private I will do my best to serve the residents of Lee County to ensure access to quality healthcare and emergency care available to every resident of Lee County.
It is everybody’s right to choose what to do with their health and explore all options available to the public. In addition, I oppose any mandatory health mandates by the government and vehemently oppose gender reassignment surgery for minors.
I look forward to working with all the County Commissioner’s, Department of Health and State of Florida governing bodies to ensure Lee Health has a continued success for all resident’s of Lee County. In order to get assistance and funding from other government entities we must improve of better communication, transparency and fiscal responsibility. Our doors should remain open to the public as it has been for many years now. If Lee county remains a public entity, I can guarantee that the public will be well informed and included on what healthcare decisions are being made. The Board meetings will continue remain open to the public for them to attend. It is urgent that the public stays involved and keep track what will transpire over the next few month regarding Lee Health. Your Health is my priority!
Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph R. Gambino
