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Outgoing Lee Health CEO Jim Nathan Reflects on Four Decades Working in SWFL Healthcare

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Photo/Image: Lee Health
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

On his first day at work at Lee Memorial Hospital, 44 years ago, Jim Nathan wrote that he expected the job to last just a year, long enough to meet a requirement for his masters degree. Now, after more than four decades with Lee Health, including more than 30 years as its president and CEO, 70-year-old Nathan is stepping down from the job June 1.

Nathan joins the show to discuss the changes he's witnessed—and led—at the helm of the largest health care provider in Southwest Florida; what's motivating his decision to step down from the job before his contract expires; and what challenges he sees for the future of health care in our region.

Copyright 2020 WGCU. To see more, visit WGCU.

Matthew Smith is a reporter and producer of WGCU’s Gulf Coast Live.
Julie Glenn is the host of Gulf Coast Live. She has been working in southwest Florida as a freelance writer since 2007, most recently as a regular columnist for the Naples Daily News. She began her broadcasting career in 1993 as a reporter/anchor/producer for a local CBS affiliate in Quincy, Illinois. After also working for the NBC affiliate, she decided to move to Parma, Italy where she earned her Master’s degree in communication from the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Her undergraduate degree in Mass Communication is from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.