Lower Keys Medical Center Remains Steadfast in Service to the Lower Keys

Delivers quality care and broad impact to the larger community

KEY WEST, FL (MARCH 29, 2024) – Over the course of 2023, Lower Keys Medical Center played a vital role helping people get well and live healthier at more than 132,000 patient encounters across its hospital and growing network of Keys Medical Group physician clinics and other outpatient sites of care.

At more than 23,000 emergency department visits last year, lifesaving medically necessary care was provided for all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Lower Keys Medical Center provided more than $52 million in charity and uncompensated care for the community’s most vulnerable.

“Our caregivers play a crucial role in our community every day of the year,” said David Clay, chief executive officer for Lower Keys Medical Center. “In the past several years, including Hurricane Irma and the pandemic, our team remained dedicated and determined to continue providing compassionate care, 24 hours a day.”

The hospital’s work to help address social determinants of health in the community includes financial donations to charitable organizations such as Wesley House Family Services, Samuel’s House, and Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Keys, made in honor of our medical staff on Doctors’ Day 2023. Hospital team members support numerous charitable and community events each year through sponsorships, donations and volunteerism. 

Lower Keys Medical Center applies its resources to medical services, facilities, technologies and specialties that help our patients remain in the community for care. Since 2016, those resources – more than $47 million – have funded expansion of inpatient behavioral health, recruitment of specialists to Keys Medical Group, and the opening of the Women’s Imaging Center. In 2023, capital investments of more than $4 million enhanced patient comfort and provider usage in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and expanded testing availability with construction of a foundation for positron emission tomography (PET) equipment. Recruitment of more medical specialties remains a priority, with recent success in securing additional providers in gastroenterology, cardiology, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, and otolaryngology. 

Civic resources and services are supported by Lower Keys Medical Center’s tax payments of more than $3 million and the payroll of more than $55 million ripples across the local economy as employees buy goods and services. 

Workforce development remains a focus and strong relationships with the College of the Florida Keys and Arcadia University provide nursing graduates and physician assistant students education and rotation opportunities. Financial commitments help team members achieve their personal and professional goals through assistance with student loan repayments, as well as tuition and housing assistance. 

Clay continued, “The compassionate care provided by our team members is only one part of the broad impact we have, adding up to more than $123 million last year alone. We recognize that our services are essential to this community and we are committed to doing all we can to provide quality health care and make the Lower Keys a healthier community for all.”

To help the community live healthier, Lower Keys Medical Center offers free community education classes and a free e-newsletter with a monthly dose of health and wellness inspiration sent directly to your inbox. Sign up at https://www.lkmc.com/enewsletter-sign-up.

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