Naples area osteopathic medical school breaks ground

A ceremonial groundbreaking July 16 marked the start of construction on what will be the first medical school in Southwest Florida, a milestone healthcare leaders hope will help alleviate the region’s physician shortage. 

The proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine in Collier County broke ground on nearly 5 acres at 8365 Cadenza Road, east of Collier Boulevard off Rattlesnake Hammock Road, before about 100 community leaders, county officials, physicians, educators and health system partners. 

The site spans two parcels along a cul-de-sac between the existing Ecko Cadenza apartments and the construction site for the new Costco. 

The $200 million, three-story, 108,000-square-foot proposed medical school is being funded, built and operated by Tampa-based Bay College of Osteopathic Medicine LLC, part of the Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel Family Office. 

Plans call for the proposed college to begin classes in July 2028 with about 90 students, eventually growing to total enrollment of approximately 720. The inaugural class would graduate in 2032. 

Tampa-based Baker Barrios Architects Inc. will serve as architect for the project, while Aureate, also based in Tampa and a division of the Patel Family Office, will serve as builder. 

‘New era’ in medical education 

Dr. Wolfgang Gilliar, founding dean of the school and chief academic officer, said the ceremony marked not just the beginning of construction but the launch of a “new era” in medical education in a growing region that needs more physicians. 

“Today we break ground for a building, but more importantly, we begin the formation of a place where future physicians will learn not only how to practice medicine, but how to see, with compassion, curiosity, scientific excellence and a lifelong commitment to the communities they serve,” Gilliar said. 

Asked about the word “proposed” in the project’s name and logo, Gilliar explained that even as construction begins, the project is required to use that description while it awaits candidate status from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, after which it can be removed. 

Philanthropist and healthcare and hospitality entrepreneur Dr. Kiran Patel, a cardiologist by training, said he chose the Naples area for the proposed medical school — the sixth to be built in Florida by his companies — because he saw a need not just for today, but for the long term. 

“I remember when I came in 1982 to practice medicine in Tampa, patients having heart problems were coming all the way to Tampa (from Naples) or going to Miami for care,” Patel said. “And Naples has grown since then. In the last 20 years, it has mushroomed. So, there was definite need for something in this area.” 

Creating a physician pipeline 

Phil Zaveri, a co-director of the Patel Family Office in Tampa who will serve as chair of the board for the proposed college, said the Patels’ vision is not just to educate physicians, but to create a lasting pipeline of doctors who will remain to live and practice medicine in the area. 

“That's the goal,” Zaveri said. “Our purpose is not merely to open another medical school. It is to strengthen the physician base in Southwest Florida. Physicians are far more likely to remain in the communities where they complete their medical school and residency training.” 

Zaveri said the partnership with Naples Comprehensive Health will allow students to complete much of their clinical training in Collier County while helping expand local residency opportunities, creating a long-term pipeline of physicians for the growing region. 

NCH, the largest nonprofit healthcare system in Collier County, will serve as a clinical and academic partner for the proposed medical school. Michael Wynn, chair of the system’s board of trustees, said the groundbreaking represented a shared commitment that had developed over the past several years. 

“We’re not simply breaking ground on a building,” Wynn said. “We're laying a foundation for generations of physicians, and most importantly, a healthier community.” 

Matt Heinle, chief strategy officer and general counsel for NCH, said the system’s facilities will serve as the primary training sites for the proposed college, although other healthcare systems in and outside the region also will participate. 

“When the third- and fourth-year medical students do their clinical rotations, many of them will be coming to NCH for internal medicine, the emergency department, cardiology, orthopedics, OB/GYN and other clinical areas,” Heinle said. 

He said NCH medical staff also will have the option of serving as adjunct professors, guest lecturers or preceptors — physicians who train medical students during their clinical rotations. 

Heinle said NCH and other Southwest Florida healthcare systems hope many of the physicians trained at the college will choose to remain in the area. National statistics, he said, show that more than 50% of physicians stay in the region where they attended medical school, while more than 85% remain where they completed their residency or fellowship. 

Collier County’s role 

The groundbreaking comes about eight months after Collier County commissioners unanimously approved a $6 million economic development agreement with Bay College, which confirmed shortly afterward that it had ruled out any other site for the school. 

Bay College had been scouting sites for a sister school to complement its recently completed Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

County officials said at the time the project would employ about 325 construction workers and create more than 100 high-wage jobs, generating an estimated $2 billion in economic impact for the county over the next 20 years. 

Under the agreement, the county will provide $1 million after the college receives its certificate of occupancy, followed by annual $500,000 payments for up to 10 years as long as the school remains in operation and continues paying applicable business and property taxes. The college also committed to providing at least 20 need-based scholarships for Collier County residents. 

At the groundbreaking ceremony, District 1 Commissioner Rick LoCastro — who formerly served as chief operating officer at Naples-based Physicians Regional Healthcare System and commanded military bases with large medical centers as an Air Force colonel — said he has had a “front-row seat to the miracles of medicine and the professionals who deliver that care.” 

He said it’s exciting that Collier County can help produce future medical professionals who will work with local colleges, healthcare organizations and community partners. 

“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,” LoCastro said.