NCH Healthcare System launches joint venture for orthopedics with Hospital for Special Surgery

The NCH Healthcare System has forged a partnership with Hospital for Special Surgery in New York to bring its orthopedic surgical services and research to Southwest Florida.

A three-story ambulatory surgery center will be built behind NCH North Naples Hospital off Immokalee Road that could cost up to $70 million to build for both inpatient and outpatient care as a joint venture between the two hospitals, according to officials.

Longtime Naples philanthropist Jay Baker, who serves on NCH’s board of trustees, announced he and his wife, Patty Baker, are committing $20 million as a challenge grant to generate $40 million toward the cost.

The nonprofit NCH, the largest hospital operator in Collier County, and Hospital for Special Surgery have been working for 18 months to bring the partnership to fruition, Paul Hiltz, president and chief executive officer of NCH, said.

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“It will allow residents of Southwest Florida to stay here for world-class care,” Hiltz said. “This is going to be orthopedics of the future.”

Hospital for Special Surgery, HSS, has ranked No. 1 for orthopedics for the past 13 years by U.S. News & World Report.

Orthopedic surgeons from the specialty hospital will start coming to Naples at the start of the new year and the practice protocols of the specialty hospital will be adopted, said Jonathan Kling, chief operations officer for NCH.

There are roughly 38 orthopedic surgeons in Collier, of which five are employed by NCH, Kling said.

A board of directors will be established for the ambulatory surgery center with officials from both hospitals serving, he said.

The building will have roughly 80,000 square feet of building space. In addition to surgical care, the specialty hospital will bring its clinical trials, research and educational programs to Naples, Kling said.

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Projections for how many patients will be treated at the future ambulatory surgery center were not immediately available. Surgical services will include joint replacement and other treatments for hips, knees, shoulders, for sports injuries and for other musculoskeletal needs, Kling said.

The goal is to start construction of the new ambulatory surgery center next April or May, Kling said. Construction is estimated to take two years.

Lou Shapiro, chief executive officer of HSS, said at Friday’s announcement that 150,000 patients are treated each year at the orthopedics hospital and 1 million people visit its website each month to learn about the services offered.

The specialty hospital performs more than 35,000 orthopedic surgical procedures annually and has been recognized as a top-ranked hospital for both orthopedics and rheumatology for 31 consecutive years, according to a news release.

The hospital maintains the lowest complication and readmission rates for orthopedics in the U.S., and is among the lowest for infection rates, according to the release.

Shapiro said the hospital has 5,000 employees in 20 locations in the four states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida, with a facility and partnership in West Palm Beach.

“HSS is committed to earning its reputation one patient at a time,” Shapiro said, adding that the two hospitals share common set of values. “That became clear after meeting everyone. Thank you for your trust in us and we won’t let you down.”

Dr. Bryan Kelly, surgeon in chief and medical director at HSS, said the hospital has been expanding its footprint beyond the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Some patients don’t like to come to New York City and that’s why the hospital wants to bring its services to patients outside of its base region.

“We can’t do this alone,” Kelly said. “The ability to find some partners like NCH is not easy.”

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: New York orthopedic hospital and NCH Healthcare announce joint venture