Our History
In June 1958, Shady Rest Nursing Home was opened by Lee County in order to provide care to the indigent residents of Lee County. In October 1974, the addition of twenty-five beds was completed in response to a long waiting list created by community need for the facility’s services. Shady Rest was the only facility owned by Lee County to accommodate the needs of elderly individuals who could not afford to pay for health care.
By 1993, the need for this type of facility in Lee County grew beyond the capacity of the old buildings and construction began on a new 180-bed facility that opened in May 1994. This building was built with a special care unit, currently 44 beds, designed for residents with Alzheimer’s or other dementia diseases that require a secure environment with structured activities. The remaining beds, currently 136 beds, were designated to provide both short-term and long-term nursing care and short-term rehabilitative services.
In April 1998, at the request of Lee County officials who wished to privatize the organization, an Advisory Board comprised of Lee County citizens from various backgrounds was formed to begin the process. The Advisory Board became a full governance board on October 1, 1998 with the creation of a private non-profit corporation named Shady Rest Care Pavilion, Inc. In the privatization, the facility’s license was transferred to the new corporation with the real and personal property leased from the County.
Since its privatization on October 1, 1998, the organization has met an objective of becoming financially sound without tax support from Lee County citizens while maintaining high quality care for its patients and residents. The Directors, in addition to management and staff, have continued the tradition and mission “to provide the citizens of Lee County access to high quality, cost effective skilled nursing and rehabilitative services”. Many long time Fort Myers citizens are or have been residents of the facility.
In October 2009, the name of the facility was changed to Page Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center. The purpose of this name change was to make the facility more marketable in the current healthcare environment and to provide consumers with a better idea of the services provided by our facility. The name “Page” also reflects the geographical location of the facility since it is located across from Page Field General Aviation Airport in central Fort Myers.