Lower Keys Medical Center operator search delayed again by legal review

Legal review sent the Lower Keys Medical Center operator search back again Wednesday, after attorneys told the Lower Florida Keys Hospital District Board that more revisions were needed before the request for proposals could move forward.

The delay keeps the process in a holding pattern for a hospital that anchors care in the Lower Keys. Lower Keys Medical Center is a 167-bed acute care hospital on College Road in Key West, with a 24-hour emergency department, laboratory services, radiology procedures and medical transport. For Monroe County residents who often face a long and expensive trip to the mainland, any pause in the operator search leaves real questions about future access to inpatient care and emergency services.

The board’s caution reflects the public stakes of the decision. The Lower Florida Keys Hospital District is an independent special district created by the Florida Legislature in 1967, and it has been working with Akerman LLP and Stroudwater Associates on the RFP process. Board members voted on January 16, 2026, to commission an independent facility-condition assessment and begin drafting the document that would shape the hospital’s next operator.

That operator search matters because Community Health Systems has run Lower Keys Medical Center since 1999, and the current lease is set to expire in April 2029. The district has had a long runway, but no final decision has been made on the next operator, the terms of the future lease, or when the RFP will be ready for release.

Interest in the hospital has been strong. In March 2025, WLRN reported that Baptist Health South Florida, Mount Sinai Health System and Tampa General Hospital were among the systems interested in operating the facility when the lease expires. Representatives from those systems also spoke at a March 4 meeting, underscoring how closely the decision is being watched by local leaders and health care providers.

Board chair Erica Sterling said on May 11 that she saw items of concern while reviewing the agenda with counsel, including the timing of approval. That legal caution appears to be what slowed the process again this week.

For Lower Keys residents, the consequence is not abstract. The hospital is one of the region’s largest employers and one of its most important public institutions, and even a procedural delay can affect confidence in staffing, service continuity and the long-term shape of care in Key West, Stock Island and the rest of the Lower Florida Keys.