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.