MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — It’s a growing pain we’ve heard time and time again: The Treasure Coast’s health care system is buckling under the weight of an influx of population.
Many of you have come to WPTV saying that there are not enough medical providers to go around with the growing population.
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“The health care issue is a serious issue as we’ve found this year,” said Tradition resident Gigi Paterelli.
Patterelli and her husband, Louis, told WPTV reporter Kate Hussey that they have lived in the area for more than 20 years, but recently switched insurers and needed to find a new primary care doctor.
They haven’t had any luck so far.
By John Bry/WPTV
“We have Blue Cross Blue Shield, we pay $800 a month for insurance, and they say they don’t have an hour from Vero Beach to Wellington. There was not a single doctor to see [Louis] about his sinus infection,” Gigi Paterelli said.
The latest appointment the couple can find is 10 months away, and in the meantime, she told WPTV, emergency rooms and walk-in clinics are just as full.
“He was in the emergency room. They were so busy there was nowhere for him to go. He was waiting in a chair in the hallway the whole time,” Gigi Patterelli said. “I’ve lived in other countries outside of the United States and the health care there is not that bad compared to what happens here. The growth is just too fast.”
It’s a strained system, says Dr. Rishi Singh, vice president of the Cleveland Clinic’s Martin North and South Hospitals.
By John Bry/WPTV
“We’ve doubled the number of doctors, tripled the number of advanced practice providers, and it’s still not enough,” Singh said.
Singh said primary care physicians are particularly taxed.
“The biggest problem is that we have a national shortage of primary care physicians. They are the people who take care of everything and unfortunately they are not well reimbursed by various payers,” Singh said.
The average primary care physician in Florida earns an annual salary of $157,101, which is 40% below the national average of $217,445, according to Zip Recruiter. This shows that the average physician salary in Florida is the lowest in the country.
Singh said Cleveland Clinic pays one of the most competitive rates in the area to try to recruit and retain, but it’s not always easy.
“What was the biggest challenge trying to get hired? Was that the price of life?” asked Hussey.
“It was the price of life. I think the other thing is having space. It’s about space here,” Singh said.
Singh said that in a constant effort to keep up with growth, primary care physicians are taking on extra shifts. He said the health system is expanding its training programs and telehealth capabilities, along with hiring more physicians and nurse practitioners.
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To serve more people, Cleveland Clinic Martin Health’s three hospitals have more than doubled the number of physicians to 255.
There are now 1,220 providers, including community physicians and advanced practice providers at Cleveland Clinic Martin Health.
In 2023, Singh said, Cleveland Clinic Martin Health touched the lives of more than 977,020 people, an increase of 18.6 percent since the integration of Martin Health into Cleveland Clinic in 2019, including outpatients.
“We’ve seen wait times go down as a result of good hiring and as a result of expanding our physician population here,” Singh said.
Down the road, Singh said the health network is also looking to build more facilities and possibly add another hospital bed tower on the Treasure Coast.
“We have about $30 million in capital projects that will be activated between this year and next year to expand more space, but even with that, I don’t know if we’ll be enough,” Singh said. “We’re actually leasing space to accommodate more doctors and providers.”
WPTV also reached out to Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin, who told WPTV in a statement that Tenet Health is building a 54-bed hospital on Becker Road near Veranda Falls. Cleveland Clinic Tradition has acquired 40 acres of land for a hospital expansion, and the City Council recently approved plans to expand HCA Florida St. Hospital. Lucie by adding two floors to their existing facility.
Her full statement reads as follows:
“The City Council and I heard from many residents concerned about the impact of the growth on the medical industry. Although the city has no direct control over the private medical industry, we know how important affordable medical care is to our residents and have been in discussions with local hospital leaders about these challenges. At our summer City Council workshop, we invited leaders from both the Cleveland Clinic and HCA to come speak with us and update the Council on their growth plans. They emphasized that this particular problem is not exclusively local, but nationwide. Both healthcare providers have physical expansion plans in Port St. Lucie. Additionally, construction is currently underway on a new hospital off Becker Road for Tenet Health, which will be a new healthcare provider in Port St. Lucie. These health care leaders also reported to the City Council that they continue to recruit and hire medical professionals.
Specifically, these expansion plans include: Tenet Health is building a brand new 54-bed hospital on Becker Road near Veranda Falls, Cleveland Clinic Tradition has acquired 40 acres of land for a hospital expansion, and the Board recently approved plans for HCA Florida St Lucie Hospital to expanded by adding two floors to their existing facility.”
Singh also said the Florida Hospital Association has worked with the government to develop a $1 billion grant program to help finance loan repayments for doctors, nurses, physical therapists and others to help increase utilization of urgent care facilities over emergency departments to reduce wait times.
“All of them will help tremendously in monitoring the care of the population and we will do our part.” We will continue to recruit and train our specialists. Even in the most challenging times in healthcare, we will continue to grow,” said Singh.
In January, the Florida Senate passed a bill to increase Florida’s health care workforce by expanding funding for programs, increasing residency opportunities and streamlining licensure, to name a few.
