Hospice care in Collier County could be expanding next year – after a state review found the county is underserved. But not everyone agrees with that determination.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reviews all the state’s 27 hospice service areas twice a year to determine if needs are being met. The agency’s most recent review listed Collier County as one of three areas in the state requiring more hospice care.

But President and CEO of Hospice of Naples – Karen Rollins – says the state collected its data the same week Hurricane Wilma hit Naples.

“During that period of time much of the county was closed down and even though we were caring for the patients that we had it was not possible for us to admit patients. This was an aberration, this was a natural disaster and the calculation the state uses does not take those kinds of things into consideration.”

Rollins says they’ve filed a petition asking the state to take the storm into consideration before making their final determination next year.

Meanwhile 8 agencies have filed letters of intent saying they’re interested in coming to Collier, including Lee County based Hope Hospice.

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A review by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration recently determined Collier County needs more hospice care…and so the application process to fill that need is underway.

Eight agencies – including Fort Myers-based Hope Hospice – have submitted letters of intent with the state.

But officials at the hospice program already serving Collier – Hospice of Naples – say the state has made a mistake, and that the community is already well served.

President and CEO of Hospice of Naples – Karen Rollins – says they’re not necessarily against having other hospices in Collier…but that she’s seen trends in other states where multiple providers create competition that can dilute services.

“The Medicare reimbursement and Medicaid reimbursement they get doesn’t really cover the cost of the care they provide. So they start having to spend those resources that are limited on things like advertising and marketing and things that don’t have a lot to do with direct patient care.”

Rollins says they filed a petition with the state asking for a review of its findings because they are based on data collected the week Hurricane Wilma hit Naples, and are therefore inaccurate.

No date is set for the review…but she says it’ll likely be late next year.

The main drainage system for Collier County’s sprawling Golden Gate Estates is getting an upgrade. The South Florida Water Management District has broken ground on what’s called ‘Weir Number Two’.

It’s one of 3 gate-like structures along the Golden Gate Canal that let water managers control how quickly water flows through it.

Director of the District’s Big Cypress Basin - Clarence Tears – says this new weir will give them much more flexibility.

“We’re replacing that wall with draw bridges which open up incrementally. And we can open it up a little bit earlier in the wet season to get some of that freshwater needed to the estuaries and hopefully reduce the impacts during major storm events to the estuaries. And also it gives us the ability to hold water back during dry season.”

Flooding has been a problem for many residents of Golden Gate Estates - especially during heavy rainfall events like Tropical Storm Ernesto this summer – because gates like Weir Number Two couldn’t let water through fast enough.

But the on flip side of that coin…environmental groups say too much water flowing from the canal hurts Naples Bay. Tears says the ultimate goal is to strike a balance between the two.

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Water managers in Collier County will soon have more control over how much water flows through the Golden Gate Canal.

They broke ground this morning on Weir Number Two.

The gate-like structure they’re replacing is basically just a wall that water flows over if it reaches a certain height. The new one will allow incremental changes in how quickly – or slowly – water flows.

Director of the District’s Big Cypress Basin - Clarence Tears – says the added flexibility will aid a return to more historic flows.

“This is the Golden Gate main drainage system. It drains about 120 square mile area…historically it only drained 10. We’re trying to divert some of the surface water flows further to the south, and by adding these structures we’ll be able to do that, and try to mimic the more natural historic flows that went through Collier County.”

Environmental groups say too much fresh water flowing from the canal is harming Naples Bay.

The new weir will also help reduce flooding after major rainfall events by allowing water to flow more quickly than with the old, simple structure being replaced.

The 4-point-2-million-dollar project should be complete in 2 years.

Collier County Health and Emergency Officials conducted an Avian Flu Exercise yesterday.

More than a hundred employees and volunteers tested the county’s plan for responding to a bird flu epidemic. Spokeswoman for the Collier Bureau of Emergency Management Jamie Saurbaugh says just because reports of a possible pandemic are no longer grabbing headlines – communities should not let down their guard.

“ it’s a serious threat and just like there are no hurricanes out there right now it’s something we have to be prepared for at all times so we’re getting ready for this in case it ever happens in case the avian flu ever becomes human to human transmission and makes its way to the united states its something we need to be prepared for”

The test was closely monitored. The strengths and weaknesses of the response to the feigned avian flu outbreak will be examined – and changes will be made to Collier County’s plan as indicated.

News stories about bird flu are no longer grabbing headlines – but health and emergency management officials are still taking the potential threat of a pandemic seriously. In Collier County today/yesterday (Thursday) health and emergency management officials tested their response plans. Emergency Management Spokeswoman Jaime Saurbaugh says information about bird or avian flu is also available on-line.

“they have a Get Ready Now brochure and they have a website called collier prepares.org and there’s a lot of avian flu information and a self triage where you can go in and type your symptoms - that’s through the health department.”

About 200 Collier workers and volunteers took part in the test. The next step is to evaluate the response and make changes to the plan if necessary.

Congress passed legislation Friday that will expand drilling for oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Republican Florida Senator Mel Martinez says he believes Florida beaches will be properly protected.

Eight-point-three million acres of Eastern Gulf will be opened up for new drilling leases. But Florida will have a 125 mile no-drilling zone off the state’s west coast. Senator Martinez helped craft protections for Florida in the bill. He says more drilling was inevitable.

"What we can do with this bill is provide a zone of protection so that that activity occurs in what we believe provides Florida the most buffer of any."

The House passed the Senate bill by slipping it into a larger tax extension bill that modified some regulations of Medicare. Fort Myers Republican Connie Mack, who has opposed drilling in the past, voted for the overall package. Supporters hope the legislation will increase domestic supplies of fuel and eventually ease prices for consumers.

Outgoing Director Max Mayfield says he’s enjoyed his 34 years at the National Hurricane Center…and that his replacement is the right man for the job.

Mayfield led the center for 7 years – including the record breaking 2004 and 2005 seasons which included now-famous names like Charley, Katrina and Wilma.

His replacement 62-year-old Bill Proenza has decades of experience in forecasting and hunting hurricanes.

Mayfield says he gave what he describes as his colleague and friend the same advice his predecessor gave him…

“I’ll tell him the same thing Bob Sheets told me when I asked him for any advice. He said keep the emergency management happy and keep the media happy and those are two things that I’ve really tried to do, and I’m sure that my successor will do a good job of that, too.”

Mayfield says good communication is the main ingredient in protecting people against hurricanes. And that advances in technology - not only in forecasting but in communication - have made keeping safe the more than 50 million people who live along the water from Texas to Maine an easier task.

Meanwhile experts are already predicting an active 2007 season.

Max Mayfield is wrapping up his tenure as Director of the National Hurricane Center – a position he’s held since 2000. He began working for the center 34 years ago – and has been eye-witness to huge changes in how storms are forecast and tracked. He talked to us about some of those changes – and what lies ahead.

Palm Beach Congressman Mark Foley resigned in September after sexually explicit instant messages he sent to a 16 year old male page were made public. House Leadership came under investigation for mishandling the incident and now the House Ethics Committee has released their findings.

In the report the committee said they were “disturbed by the conduct of some of those who dealt with allegations regarding the conduct of former Representative Mark Foley.” But they also found that no members violated official House rules.

While not saying anything about the committee’s findings Chairman of the Ethics committee, Washington Congressman Doc Hastings, did offer some advice for future situations.

"Each of us on this subcommittee recognizes that 20 20 hindsight is easy. And we recognize that doing the right thing in a sensitive situation can be very hard and difficult. But simply put, in situations as ones described in our report doing the right thing is the only acceptable option"

The committee requested that the current operation of the page program be reviewed to ensure the safety of pages.

The number of visitors to Florida in 2006 is down from a year ago. But Lee County is bucking the trend.

According to Smith Travel Research there were double digit declines in September and October hotel occupancy in the Orlando area. But the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau’s Nancy Hamilton says the agency’s advertising and promotion efforts have paid off.

“when we able to increase the tourist tax rate we were able to pull in more tourist tax dollars to devote to our marketing campaign and the numbers are up when other areas are showing a decrease so I think it’s helped”

Hamilton says expenditures are also up 9 percent. The latest tourism numbers plus projections for early 2007 will be released at the bureau’s December meeting on Friday. In 2005 more than two million visitors spent more than two billion dollars in Lee County.

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Lee County Tourism officials say aggressive marketing campaigns have kept hotels and resorts busy – bucking a decline that’s hit most of the state. The Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau’s Nancy Hamilton says numbers were even up in the steamy, slow month of September.


“looking at this year to date through October overall every area we look at are up – we seem to be having a good year…we were up in both visitor counts and expenditures in September – so has it been a fabulous blow them out of the sky year – no – but everything is on the positive side so I think some of our extra advertising campaign and promotions have helped out”

An increase in the county’s tourist tax provided the revenue for the boost in advertising. Hamilton says the German and Canadian markets were targeted this summer and efforts paid off. Projections for 2007 will be reviewed at the tourism bureau’s monthly meeting this Friday.

Babcock Ranch developer Syd Kitson and his partners made a generous gift to Florida Gulf Coast University today – in the form of land and cash.

Florida Gulf Coast University just got a lot bigger. This afternoon FGCU President William Merwin announced its receipt of 67 acres of land in two parcels at the Babcock Ranch site, which sits in eastern portions of Lee and Charlotte counties. One parcel will be established as an environmental research center – the other as an outreach facility– both run by FGCU. The land also comes with a 3-million-dollar endowment.

FGCU President William Merwin thanked Kitson from the “bottom of his heart”:

“This means generations and generations of students not yet here, that are in the graded schools, will have an opportunity to work in a center…a center for environmental research and outreach in Charlotte County.”

The State of Florida Courtelis Fund will match the gift, effectively creating a 6-million-dollar trust dedicated to building the state-of-the-art facilities.

Syd Kitson says he and the university share a commitment to assuring that sustainable growth and preservation work hand-in-hand:

“I really feel very fortunate to be involved with the people of this university, and the outstanding work that you are doing to meet the long-term environmental planning challenges of Southwest Florida.”

The center will be accessible not only to the university community, but area residents—who will be able to attend public seminars, faculty presentations of research findings and courses on the ecology of Babcock Ranch.

The Seminole word “Immokalee” means “my home”. Each winter, the rural Collier county settlement of that name becomes home to migrants from Mexico, Central America, Haiti and neighboring nations. These workers come to pick the area’s citrus, tomatoes, and other crops. They have made Immokalee the state’s largest farm worker community and a major supplier of the country’s winter produce. With Florida’s growing season now in full swing, WGCU’s Christine Buckley visited a market where the locals do their shopping - and socializing.