Naples (Fla.) Comprehensive Health and Miami-based Nicklaus Children’s Hospital are expanding care for women and children in southwest Florida through a joint initiative backed by a philanthropic gift.
The effort includes the Van Domelen Institute for Women and Children — the new name for the existing program — and the construction of the Van Domelen Pavilion for Women and Children on NCH’s North Hospital campus, according to a Jan. 20 joint news release. The tower will serve as the program’s hub, funded by a gift from the Bill and Julia Van Domelen Foundation.
The 156,000-square-foot pavilion will include modern labor and delivery suites, operating rooms, advanced maternal-fetal medicine, women’s health services and a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit. A rooftop helipad will support rapid transport.
“Across the country, more maternity units are closing than opening, and very few are expanding,” Paul Hiltz, president and CEO of NCH, told Becker’s. “Partnerships like our collaboration with Nicklaus are a key growth strategy. They allow us to enhance both the quality and depth of what we offer, and to do so more quickly by working with world-class partners.”
The pavilion represents a more than $350 million investment. NCH and Nicklaus Children’s plan to fund 80% through philanthropy to break ground.
NCH currently delivers nearly 3,700 babies each year and operates the only pediatric emergency department in Collier County, which is home to more than 65,000 children. The region’s pediatric population is expected to grow another 4% in five years.
“Together with NCH, we are excited to bring nationally recognized pediatric expertise closer to home by working with them to create an integrated, family-centered model of care that will serve generations and ensure families receive the highest level of care when and where they need it,” Matthew Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System, said in the release.
