Klein Has the Support of Fellow Leaders

“David Klein has been a community member of the Lee Health Board's Finance and Investment Committee for over two years while I served as Committee Chair /Board Treasurer. His 40 plus years of executive experience in the health care business has been extremely helpful to our committee. He also uses his executive health care expertise in our community working to improve elder care, behavioral health and expanding our network of care for the citizens of Lee County. David's commitment, passion and health care executive expertise will benefit the Board team and our community and therefore he has my endorsement.”

"As a current member of the Lee Health Board of Directors, I have a clear understanding of the important issues facing Lee Health in the coming years. That is why I am fully endorsing David Klein’s candidacy to fill the vacant board seat in District 3 as he would be an outstanding Lee Health director. As a past CEO of a successful health plan and provider organization, David would bring extensive corporate healthcare knowledge, expertise, and experience to the current board. He has extensive knowledge and involvement with Lee Health through his service as a community member on the Board Finance and Investment Committee as well as an unpaid advisor to executive management. David will bring deep experience as he is and has served in roles of director and leader of both for profit and not for profit companies. He is a proven leader that has made a difference in our local health care working with FGCU and United Way to address the behavioral health care issues in our community. David understands the importance of Lee Health, with the community simply counting on them to be there when they get sick. By track record and value, I know that David will be devoted to Lee Health’s success.”

“The Health Care Industry is very complicated. As a candidate for District 3 of Lee Health Board of Directors, David brings very valuable assets. His knowledge of healthcare finances is well known to Lee Health as he has been on important community member of Finance and Investment Committee. Another area where David has demonstrated expertise is behavioral or mental health. Working with Paul Simeone, we have recently made very significant progress in this field. I strongly endorse David Klein to be elected District 3 Director of the Lee Health”

"Having served three terms (12 years) on the Lee Health System Board of Directors, and currently serving as the Board Treasurer, I am positioned to know key needs for the future. The primary need is smart, capable leadership in this important governance body. Having the opportunity to have someone with David Klein's experience, healthcare business acumen, and personal dedication is a blessing. I have worked with David while he served as a community member on the Finance Committee. I have had the opportunity to appreciate firsthand his knowledge, skill, and passion. David's experience as a health plan and provider organization CEO provides the system with strategic advantages. David has donated hundreds of hours of personal time and expertise as a community board member, helping my colleagues and me, make smart, strategic decisions. I wholeheartedly recommend David Klein for The District Three Director on the Lee Health System Board of Directors."

"As a Lee Health Director, over the past three years, I have enjoyed working with David. His outstanding healthcare business leadership and track record as well as his very relevant corporate governance experience are well known to all. However, with my background as the founding Chief Administrative Officer of Golisano's Children's Hospital and as a cardiac rehabilitation nurse, I am also impressed with the depth of his knowledge of and the importance he places on quality, safety, and patient experience. Many of David's comments center on ensuring Lee Health has the staff and facilities needed to provide broad and ready access to the quality of care our community expects from Lee Health. He presents an unusual mix of business savvy and compassion for others. He is and will be an incredible teammate. I really hope he gets elected. I provide an unqualified endorsement for his election to Lee Health, District 3 directorship."

“David Klein is by far one of the most qualified candidates ever to offer to serve on the Lee Health Board of Directors. A quick scan of his website www.davidkleinhospitalboard.com demonstrates his significant lifetime achievements in both healthcare and business. David has brought these skills and experiences to our community and has made material contributions as an advisor to Lee Health, Florida Gulf Coast University, and United Way especially with his focus on improving behavioral health care and enabling seniors to age at home. His demonstrated successful healthcare, business and governance experiences and expertise are exactly what positions him well for the Lee Health Board. I have personally worked with David and observed his collaborative leadership style, creativity, high energy, and visionary talents. As Lee Health’s multi-decade immediate past CEO, and in my current FGCU leadership and community volunteer positions, I offer an unequivocal endorsement of David to serve as a Lee Health Director.”

“Healthcare today is at a critical crossroads where it must balance the provision of excellent patient care with a cost curve that is brutally upward trending. Fixing what ails our broken system requires compassion, courageous innovation, and a business savvy pragmatism that few healthcare leaders possess. David Klein is one of those rare individual who personifies the complete package. I know because, over the past few years, I have worked closely with him – and others - to build a coordinated system of behavioral health care that will be a model for others to follow. In so doing, David has emerged a compassionate champion of patients and their families, especially the downtrodden and dispossessed, a brilliant thinker on all aspects of healthcare delivery and design, and a community gem who gives tirelessly of himself to make the world a better place. For these reasons and many more unstated, it is my great honor and distinct privilege to endorse him for Lee Health BOD. I can think of no person better suited to meet the challenges of Lee Health’s future!”

“It is with great pleasure that I provide an unqualified endorsement of David Klein to serve as Lee Health Director, District 3. During my 27 years with United Way, I have not met a volunteer who has become more quickly nor deeply engaged in helping our community to address important issues than has David. While relatively new to Lee County but understanding the role and influence of United Way from his Rochester, New York experiences where he served multiple terms as board chair, he joined our board and became immediately and fully immersed in the behavioral health and substance use disorder challenge which is a top health issue for our area. He played the important role of broker and consultant bringing parties together. David is highly respected for his expertise and ability to build bridges and coalitions being trusted by all parties. His commitment to our underserved population in admirable. Lee Health and our community would be very well served to have David as one of its directors.”

“I have known and worked closely with David Klein through our mutual partnerships with United Way and Healthy Lee and I’ve found him to be a great leader with innovative, impactful ideas to address the many challenges we face in the Healthcare Industry. His values align perfectly with those of Southwest Florida and his impressive resume as an Executive in the Healthcare industry make him uniquely qualified to fill the vacancy on the Lee Health System Board of Directors.”

“It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of endorsement for David Klein for this election to the Lee Health Hospital Board of Directors (District 3), replacing Sandy Cohen, M.D. after his untimely passing. As a retired Law Enforcement Officer for 25 years and now as an elected official, I understand firsthand what it takes to be a public servant. In the time I have known David, I have witnessed his commitment and ability to engage in the community. David has an impressive professional background in the healthcare field, in both the private and public sector, of which will surely benefit the Lee Health System overall. Again, it is with great honor and privilege that I support and recommend David Klein to serve on the Lee Health Hospital Board of Directors, representing District 3.”

“I highly recommend David Klein for the position of Lee Hospital Board of Directors District 3 in the upcoming special election. His depth of knowledge, experience, and passion for healthcare are impressive. With challenges facing Lee Health, we would be well served to have David as a director. He has my full endorsement.”

“I have worked with healthcare executives reputed to be nationally best. David is clearly their equal. Lee Health success is core to maintaining high quality of life we all expect. I can think of no health care professional in all of the country better qualified for the Lee Board than David."

“David and I met about two years ago working on the FGCU Senior Care Planner workforce development program. He brought to our community a vision of how teams of clinical and social service providers, assisted with technology, could help seniors to age at home. Working with FGCU leadership, he orchestrated market research reaching out to possible employers and offered first cut at the curriculum. Without David, I am doubtful the program which was just launched would have happened. Seeing his passion and talent, I have made use of David as a Cypress Living strategic advisor. He is simply excellent. We are fortunate to have him as one of our community leaders. Cypress Living and Lee Health are allies working closely together. Having David be a Lee Health director would be beneficial to both organizations and the residents of Lee County. I fully endorse his election to the board.”

“The Scripture tells us the story of Esther who advocated on behalf of the Jews, placing her own life at risk. We need and pray for today’s Esthers, that is, spiritually based leaders who unselfishly advocate for the care of our entire population but especially the neediest and most underserved. Over the past two years, I have been working with David Klein who has been diligently helping to develop resources for our New Life Dream Center, which uses a biblical approach to care for substance abuse disorder patients. David recently decided to run for election to the Lee Health Board of Directors which is our public, safety-net hospital that is responsible for care for all. We need David because of his values and talent to be on the board. I am praying for David’s win and am asking you to join me in my unqualified support for him."

“I met David about two years ago when he was working with FGCU to design and to launch their Senior Care Planner aging at home training program. I have found him to be a seasoned, inventive, successful, very well-networked healthcare executive motivated exclusively to help bring the best medical care to our community. He understands physicians and practice management as well as our community. Given the role Lee Health plays in our delivery system, he would be a strong addition to their board. By background and personality, he is remarkably well-suited to be elected director and I provide an unqualified endorsement.”

“David has been a longstanding and esteemed member of the Distinguished Executives Council I chair. His experience and knowledge as a respected health care delivery and health plan company executive have proved extremely valuable in our building outstanding, high quality health care companies. Having worked closely with David for over nine years, I am always inspired by his passion for improving care for patients, and his tireless commitment to his community. There is no doubt in my mind that he would make a fantastic director of the Lee Health System."

“David was one of my founding directors of Landmark Health which grew to be the country’s largest medical group, caring in their homes for the “sickest of the sick” frail elderly. David was an excellent director helping to refine this innovative model and to introduce the group to markets nationwide. He always tasked management to find ways to enhance affordability through the efficient delivery of high-quality care. He was an important part of Landmark Health’s industry leading success.”

“I have worked with David serving as a member of the board of his company, The Lifetime Healthcare Companies and as my successor as chair of the New York eHealth Collaborative which is the New York State health information exchange.  In both roles, he was a patient first but pragmatic, strong leader.  He is aware, innovative, analytical, and well-networked and respected.”

“David is one of my most trusted advisors. I count him as friend, confidante and counselor. He is values driven placing patient and community above all else. David has been one of my few go-to people to help think through tough strategic and relationship issues. He is just plain smart and aware.  He is a nationally recognized expert in health care delivery, health plans and  remarkably well-networked. He is an innovator constantly bringing industry leading edge ideas to me. When he was CEO of our local Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield plan, he was deemed by business and community leaders to be somebody to approach to solve problems – both health care and not health care. He was never afraid to get involved. He was always about finding a way to improve quality of life in our community. David would be a very material addition to Lee Health System Board of Directors.”

“My relationship with David began 15 years ago when he was CEO of Excellus and I was State Budget Director. David was a strong, visionary leader. Excellus was a top performing plan nationally recognized for its quality and member satisfaction. We later collaborated with David chairing and leading the development of the statewide electronic medical record exchange which has become a model for the country. He is exceptional in his ability to bring people together. I believe Lee Health System would be well served to have him as a director.”

“David joined the Commonwealth Care Alliance’s (CCA) board of directors four years ago, as part of our effort to add national health care industry leadership to our governance. We were fortunate to recruit David. He is a highly sought-after director and has been an outstanding addition. David brought to CCA the unique combination of being the consummate and savvy health care business executive who is also deeply committed to bringing the highest quality care to underserved populations. With the challenges facing health care, Lee Health System would be well served to add David as a director.”

“David has been a valued advisor and mentor for several years now for me in a growing accountable care organization. His innovative thought and multifaceted experience within health care delivery and payment systems make him a unique wealth of knowledge. His insight and collaborative nature have proven invaluable in helping to shape and refine our ideas and care delivery. Ever with an eye on delivering the highest quality and value of health care, he was an important leader in creating our accountable care organization and providing vision for its development. Few can boast his resume and experience, even fewer can show his track record for success and results. He is an asset any health care organization can only hope to find.”

“David has been one of my key advisors in launching my venture capital fund. He knows health care. He is well networked. He follows through. You can count on him. Lee Health System would be well served to have him as one of their directors.”

“It is a pleasure for me to endorse the candidacy of David Klein for the Lee Memorial Health System Board. I know David from our mutual time in Western New York where I served as CEO of a large multi-hospital system and he served as CEO of Lifetime Healthcare Companies. I know David to be a person of absolute integrity who is exceptionally bright, and thoroughly knowledgeable about health care – from the different standpoints of payor, provider and consumer. He is a ‘big picture’ guy who has full command of infinite details of health care. He understands well the difference between governance and management. He is a strategic thinker who would be a tremendous asset to the board.”

"As a former health care executive and resident of Lee County, I strongly endorse David Klein for a Director position on the Lee Memorial Health System Board of Directors. His experience, leadership, and compassion will bring enormous value to the Board and to the residents of Lee County."

“I am a big supporter of David! As the past Chief Operating Officer of the American Hospitals, it is easy to say that this time in our history we need excellent leaders to help guide our health care system. David has all of those qualities!”