Southwest Florida is on track to have a medical school that will be a first for the region to train physicians to serve health care needs now and in the future.
Dozens of leaders in business, healthcare and government were on hand July 16 to celebrate a groundbreaking for a proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine in Naples at a five-acre site at Rattlesnake Hammock Road and Collier Boulevard.
The project is in application steps for accreditation with the Commission on Osteopathic College of Accreditation, COCA, and cannot be called a medical school until it achieves “candidate status,” said Dr. Wolfgang Gilliar, founding dean and chief academic officer.
That is expected to happen sometime between August and December, he said.
The intent is opening in summer/fall of 2028 with an inaugural class of 90 students and reaching 180 students by the third year, Gilliar said.
The project is expected to go a long way toward addressing a physician shortage in Southwest Florida and serve as a catalyst for training generations of physicians, along with having a significant economic impact on the local economy.
The $200 million, three-story campus will be built by the Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel Family Office in Tampa. It is the largest philanthropic entity to higher education in Florida, Gilliar said.
They have built five medical schools in Florida and Naples would be the sixth, he said.
Plans were unveiled last November when Collier leaders announced $6 million in economic development funds over 10 years for the initiative.
At the time, the projected impact was estimated between $1.7 billion to $2 billion to the local economy over 25 years, according to the county.
At the groundbreaking, Patel shared how he was born in Africa, educated in India and came to live in the U.S.
He did not speak of how he built his wealth, which was through launching healthcare companies, yet spoke of the best gift anybody can give to society is education and health.
“What we are about to launch is a way where we will be able to train physicians that will be working in the society to do good,” he said.
Patel said he has had a goal of creating 1,000 physicians per year but the Naples project will increase that to 1,200 a year.
“Very few people get the opportunity to get involved in institutions like this,” he said. “All the leaders of this society, county people, city people, the hospital people, all of them have participated to make sure we succeed.”
What will be the role of Naples Comprehensive Health?
The nonprofit hospital system, Naples Comprehensive Health, will have a clinical and educational role for the future medical school.
Dr. Hermes Koop, from NCH and the designated institutional official for the hospital system’s graduate medical education program, spoke of Patel’s tremendous gift to the region and impact it will have.
On any given day 80 residents and fellows are practicing at NCH and bringing enthusiasm and curiosity that has changed the culture of the hospital system, he said.
“And I think getting an influx of medical students in the future will do that even more,” Koop said.
Koop spoke of how the education system in Collier has improved in the more than 30 years he’s been practicing medicine in the community.
“We have wonderful schools for our children. We have wonderful universities for our young adults,” Koop said. “We now have graduate medical education. The only thing we’re missing is a medical school to make that continuum. And I think having that continuum is going to generate all kinds of benefits to this community.”
Michael Wynn, chairman of the NCH board of trustees, said a medical school for the community “has existed as an idea, as a need and as a shared commitment but today that vision takes a visible form.”
“We’re not simply breaking ground on a building, we’re laying the foundation for generations of physicians, and most importantly, a healthier community,” Wynn said.
The project location is in Collier County Commissioner Rick LoCastro’s district, who described it as exciting for all Collier.
“This home for future physicians is the vision of Dr. Patel and his staff, and now a total team effort for all of us to deliver it,” LoCastro said. “Our county staff pledges our total support to assist in making this project a reality with a sense of urgency and a can-do attitude to get it done.”
Who is paying for the new medical school?
Gilliar said the Patel Family Office is funding the entire $200 million project, which is $80 to $90 million for the construction cost but also the interior build out with all the high-tech equipment.
The leaders plan to open with 90 students and grow to 180 students per class, with a total enrollment of about 720 students. The inaugural class is anticipated to graduate in the spring of 2032.
The three-story campus has been designed to foster an integrated learning environment, he said. Students will learn in technology-enhanced environments that will include virtual anatomy, clinical skills studios, advanced simulation, and collaborative learning spaces.
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Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Groundbreaking: New medical school in Naples to improve access to care
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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By Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
