Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida have been in a legal dispute over a sublease agreement for Meridian Place in Naples.
Nicklaus informed Golisano and Lee Health that they were terminating the sublease agreement, which meant the hospital had to move out.
The disagreement led to a lawsuit filed earlier this month by Lee Health on behalf of Golisano against Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
Nicklaus, in a letter Friday to Lee Health, said they formally withdrew their March 5 Notice of Termination of Sublease. They expressed a desire to move past the legal disputes and focus on their shared vision of providing the best care for the children of Collier County.
“We are writing in the hopes that we may help to refocus the business relationship between Nicklaus Children’s and Golisano on what matters most – our shared vision to ensure the children of Collier County, Florida receive the best care and services that may be provided. We are afraid that vision has been blurred by the legal exchanges, which culminated in the lawsuit recently filed by Golisano against Nicklaus Children’s without any warning,” the letter addressed to Dr. Antonucci and Mr. Billman said.
Nicklaus Children’s hopes the lawsuit will be dismissed and said they look forward to collaborating with Golisano to prioritize the health and welfare of the community’s children.
In response to the letter, Lee Health in a statement to WINK News said, “Lee Health is pleased that the immediate threat to Collier County families’ access to healthcare has been addressed with a pause to the April 4th eviction of services at the Golisano Children’s Health Center in Naples, ensuring access to essential pediatric care for our Collier County children. This decision ensures that thousands of families can continue to receive the specialized care they depend on, without immediate interruption.”
The statement said Lee Health is focused on a long-term resolution to the Collier location.
“While this reprieve allows us to continue our mission in the short term, we remain deeply concerned about the potential for future disruptions that could put our patients at risk,” the Lee Health statement said.
