Doctors: Naples city council dragging feet to approve new NCH Heart and Stroke institute

Doctors say a new NCH Heart and Stroke Institute in Naples will transform the area for patients, guests, and doctors and everything will be easier, but the city is dragging its feet in approving the project.

Thursday is just the first reading, and there are quite a few more steps before approval, building permits and doors to open, but the community support is there.

The section head of heart failure at NCH told WINK News at the moment if there’s an emergency, they’re taking a 15-minute walk from one side of the hospital to another to see a patient.

NCH said the institute will save those key minutes that could save lives.

With any health problem, time is crucial. When it comes to heart problems, time is of the utmost importance.

“We know that 70% of the heart attacks and strokes we treat are within 10 miles of this downtown campus,” said Paul Hiltz, the CEO of NCH.

He’s been working with the City of Naples for nearly three years to build a heart and stroke institute, also known as the Schulze Center, at its downtown campus.

“We want to have care close to home so that we can save more lives and expand the services that this town has come to know and love,” said Hiltz.

The community support is there, as seen by those who showed up to the plan’s first reading at Thursday’s city council meeting, and by the more than $100 million in donations.

“It matters to the 20,000 residents here. We have a predominantly elderly community,” said John Allen, a Naples resident.

Allen has called Naples home for 25 years. He echoes the frustrations of his neighbors that conversations have been going on for too long.

“Had this building been approved three years ago, we would have 50 more rooms to accommodate the elderly and the unhealthy,” said Allen.

Changes since the idea was born include lowering the building height, reducing square footage, moving the parking area and adding landscaping.

Opponents who live nearby worry about traffic and the look of the building, among other concerns.

“I think we were all frustrated by delays, but in the end, we’re not going to look backward. We’re going to say, right now we’ve got a great project, we made a lot of modifications based on the input of the neighbors and the city,” said Hiltz. “Today’s a day to say, ‘Celebrate as a community. This is the project we’ve all been wanting to do. No more delays. Let’s get it voted on.'”

The meeting has been going on for several hours, and it isn’t expected to end anytime soon. WINK News watched a lot of people walk out, and they say they’re talking in circles.

There will be a second reading, and that’s when there will be a vote.

Once that’s done, the council will return to the design review board for a final plan and building permits. Hiltz said the door could be open in two and a half years.