SWFL.io - Local NewsRiley Lehman
•9/19/2026
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — A group of local veterans and community leaders want to bring a full-service VA hospital to Cape Coral.
Official records show more than 114,000 veterans live in Southwest Florida, but many struggle to find care in the region.
The "Cape Coral VA Clinic Expansion to a Full-Service Hospital Committee" formed to find a solution.
Their plan is to turn the existing Cape Coral VA clinic into a full-service hospital so veterans can receive care closer to home.
"We need to make sure that our veterans, including myself, have a facility that they don't have to drive two and a half hours one way in decent traffic to get inpatient services," Committee Chairman Dr. Alan White said.
The committee's vision is to build a nine-story, 200-bed hospital at the existing Diplomat Parkway site.
The total cost would be between $700 million and $1.1 billion.
Dr. Alan White says congressional approval and funding are key to making it happen.
"Congress needs to approve this. They need to approve it from a clinic to a hospital. We need legislation to do that and of course funding is going to be critical," White said.
The next steps include completing a market assessment and a feasibility study before the project moves into the planning phase.
Committee leaders hope to have the new hospital built within five years.
Dr. White also wants all veterans to know about the VA medical system, an online health care portal where veterans can apply for benefits, find local facilities and receive those benefits.
For more information, click here. VA health care | Veterans Affairs