Liz Freeman|Naples Daily News
Lesley Richard had lost her pep. She chalked it up to being 77.
Following a regular check up at the NCH Heart Institute near downtown Naples, Richard learned her mitral valve regurgitation had worsened.
It’s a condition where the mitral valve in her heart doesn’t close tightly and blood flows backward. It can cause fatigue in some but can lead to heart failure in others.
A Marco Island resident for 16 years, Richard supports the NCH Healthcare System’s plan to build a new heart, vascular and stroke center to offer the latest advancements, engage in research and ideally recruit top-notch specialists so fewer residentstravel out of town for cardiac care.
Richard had a minimally invasive procedure in September at NCH’s current heart center to address her mitral valve condition. She has her energy back.
“The hospital needs to keep up with modern-day medicine,” said Richard, who previously lived in New York. “Naples is the size of town that it warrants a good heart center. I think they are hitting it right on the button.”
What would it cost?
The projected cost is $150 million for a new six-story heart center that would be built next to the NCH Downtown Baker Hospital, in the footprint of the Telford Education Center that would be torn down.
Hospital leaders have been working with the city of Naples on plans for the new building that would be 98 feet tall, similar in height to the two existing Baker hospital towers that are 92-feet tall, according to NCH.
Previously: NCH asks Naples to create new hospital zoning district to build taller buildings
And: NCH's proposal for hospital district with taller buildings on hold until early 2022
Both hospital towers were erected years before city voters approved a 42-foot height limit or three stories for commercial buildings in 2000.
City planners suggested NCH seek to create a hospital zoning district for the entire 22-acre campus, which currently has three zoning categories. Documents were drawn up and discussed at a workshop with the Naples City Council in October.
More: As election day nears, Naples City Council candidates share views on growth and development
Plans for a hospital zoning district lead to concern among some residents that NCH wants more than one new building at six stories, and that’s not the case, Paul Hiltz, president and chief executive officer of NCH, said.
“What we are requesting is one building on this campus which would be as tall as the existing Baker tower here,” he said.
NCH sent a letter to city leaders in mid-January outlining that only one building with six stories is sought, plus a new parking garage.
“You can limit us to one building and we will agree to that,” Hiltz said. “We’re just asking what is the most expeditious way to get this one building built. They don’t grant variances.”
Hiltz expects another workshop with the city in March to focus on the hospital district zoning and how to limit NCH to the one new building.
Wait and see attitude
The Old Naples Association, which represents property owners from Seventh Avenue North to 13th Avenue South, is not commenting until NCH presents a formal plan and members can review it, said Janet Ferry, president of the association.
At this point, the association has no idea what the project will look like, she said. Ferry said she is aware of the letter from NCH to the city.
“(Old Naples Association) will not prejudge this,” she said, adding that the group represents thousands of property owners. “We appreciate a healthy dialogue and transparency and we believe that will happen.”
Hiltz understands how the city council and nearby residents are concerned about maintaining the neighborhood ambience around the hospital. He points out that the hospital has been in the community for 65 years.
More: NCH Healthcare System offering new cardiac services to capture more of patient market
The patient base who would benefit the most from a state-of-the art heart center live in the surrounding area.
“Seventy percent of heart and stroke patients live within 10 miles of (the downtown hospital),” he said.
Heart disease is the third leading cause of death in both Collier and Lee counties, and the second leading cause of death in the state, according to the state Department of Health.
There were nearly 800 cardiac-related deaths in Collier and 1,700 in Lee in 2019, according to DOH.
NCH has big plans
Last year NCH hired Dr. Robert Cubeddu, a cardiologist previously at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston, to serve as president of NCH’s heart center and spearhead advancing the program and recruiting new physicians to the cardiac team.
The hospital has been expanding what cardiac procedures it performs, which includes MitraClip to repair a leaky mitral valve, and intravascular lithotripsy that uses sonic pressure waves to tackle hardened calcium deposits in arteries so stents can be put in.
Richard, the Marco Island resident, had the MitraClipprocedure performed by Cubeddu who answered all of her questions.
“I am one of those people who want to know precisely what to expect,” she said.
Plans call for gaining the talent and expertise in cardiothoracic surgery for treating patients with complex valve disease, for patients with thickened heart muscle and for patients who need temporary and permanent mechanical circulatory support for end-state heart disease, according to NCH.
The goal is to become a top 100 heart system in the U.S. and that requires having the infrastructure under one roof to attract some of the best specialiststo relocate to Naples, Hiltz said.
About 30% of patients needing cardiovascular surgery in Collier are traveling out of the region; the goal is to reduce that, Hiltz said.
Some patients go to Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston, Advent Health Cardiovascular Institute in Orlando, Tampa General Hospital or elsewhere, he said.
NCH’s competition locally for cardiac patients is Physicians Regional Healthcare System which added open heart surgery at its Pine Ridge campus in 2020, and Lee Health in Lee County, which performs more than 1,000 heart surgeries a year.
Another option for cardiac care: Physicians Regional Healthcare System begins open-heart surgery
What can the public expect?
Early design plans call for a building around 180,000-square-feet of space that would include physicians’ offices, space for educational programs, research, catheterization labs and patient beds, Hiltz said
“The reason for the six stories is we are trying to utilize our existing operating rooms and (catheterization) labs so we can have bridges across so the buildings will line up and we can utilize all our investment in this building,” he said.
NCH performs 470 open heart surgeries a year, and more than 4,200 patients came through the catheterization lab for diagnostic and interventional procedures in 2021.
The numbers of open-heart surgeries would increase but there “would be quite a bit of growth” in the number of minimally invasive procedures, Hiltz said.
“We would like to double the number of interventional rooms we have here because that’s the future of cardiology,” he said.
The heart center now has three cardiovascular operating rooms and five interventional labs for minimally invasive procedures and one suite for heart rhythm diagnostics.
There are 49 cardiac beds now and plans call for shifting them to the new heart center from the Baker hospital, which would enable all rooms at the hospital to become private, Hiltz said.
NCH currently has 13 cardiologists and three heart surgeons.
“We probably will add one more heart surgeon and probably five cardiologists at least in the next 24 months,” he said.
Who is on board so far?
Dr. James Talano, a longtime cardiologist and founder ofSWICFT Institute of Southwest Florida for research, is on board with NCH’s plans.
“I think we are right on the edge here of tremendous growth,” Talano said. “I think it will be needed.”
Besides population growth, Talano said conducting clinical research will help recruit new talent and keep patients from going elsewhere.
A dedicated heart center requires space for patient care, operating rooms, catheterization labs, education and for conducting research, he said.
“You need a good tower,” Talano said. “I would be against it if it were only three or four stories.”
Edward Morton, former president and CEO of NCH from 2000 to 2006, is helping to spearhead support in the community for the new heart center, but said he is not involved in lobbying elected officials on the building height issue.
“I am passionate about world class cardiac care,” he said, adding that it would be a “shame” for NCH and the community if the project doesn’t move forward.
He is calling for people to take a long view of what NCH wants to do and how critical it is to be a part of medical advancements.
“We want to be at the forefront of that,” he said. “I see this as the next forward step we need to take to bring world class medical care to our community.”
