Local governments will continue funding the only hospital in the Middle Keys as the region continues to face a shortage in medical personnel.
The Key Colony Beach City Commission recently voted to continue funding Baptist Health Fishermen’s Community Hospital in Marathon.
The city pays into the Middle Keys Health Care Municipal Service Taxing Unit, which was established to help rebuild the hospital after it was destroyed during Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Key Colony Beach and Marathon both agreed to continue paying into the taxing unit for one more year.
Fishermen’s is one of only three hospitals in the Florida Keys. Residents have raised concerns about the lack of specialized medical care. The Keys’ only cancer center closed in 2023.