HSS, Naples Comprehensive Health see benefits in collaboration

In many respects, the partnership between Naples Comprehensive Health and HSS has good bones.

Usually, the phrase “good bones” refers to a house being sturdy and well-built. But it seems that the two health systems have built a strong relationship.

Naples Comprehensive Health, and HSS, also known as the Hospital for Special Surgery, have teamed together to build a new orthopedic hospital in South Florida. The facility, HSS at NCH, opened last year.

Paul Hiltz, CEO of Naples, and Dr. Bryan T. Kelly, CEO of HSS, spoke with Chief Healthcare Executive about their relationship and their goal of offering more musculoskeletal services in South Florida.

HSS, based in New York, is focused solely on musculoskeletal health and renowned for its work in orthopedics. The system saw potential in expanding services in South Florida.

“We kept on calling it the sixth borough of New York because there's so many people from New York who are down there,” Kelly says.

Jay Baker, a board trustee at NCH, and his wife, Patty, pledged a $20 million matching grant earmarked for orthopedic services, and their support helped bring NCH and HSS together.

“Jay had become very familiar with the people at HSS and really wanted to bring that level of expertise and world class care here to Naples,” Hiltz says.

In a recent conversation, Hiltz and Kelly discussed the new hospital, building the partnership, and the advantages of collaborating without a merger or acquisition.

‘Exceeding our expectations’

The new HSS at NCH hospital opened in June 2025. The three-story facility in North Naples includes 10 operating rooms, 23 treatment rooms, and an outpatient musculoskeletal surgery center.

Hiltz says the hospital’s reception has surpassed the initial projections in terms of volume.

“We estimated volumes over the first three years, and I can tell you that the volumes are way exceeding our expectations here,” Hiltz says. “And we're really in year three in terms of the volume.”

“I think the community has really embraced this idea of world-class care here in Naples in a facility that was really designed by Bryan's team and our teams here, but we're really excited about the way that facility turned out,” he adds.

Kelly says the facility reflects HSS’ singular focus on orthopedics, and he says the hospital in South Florida is one of the nicest and most comprehensive musculoskeletal care centers in the world.

Kelly says one big advantage of the facility is everything is “self-contained.”

“It's a great place for people who are taking care of musculoskeletal problems to work,” Kelly says.

“The orthopedic surgeons, I think, are working in an extraordinarily efficient environment where they can see their patients,” he says. “They can operate on their patients. They can do both inpatient and outpatient. They get all their advanced musculoskeletal imaging and their physical therapy all in one spot. I think it's super convenient for the providers, the clinicians, the surgeons. But I think it's even better for the patients, because it's one-stop-shopping for the patients.”

The NCH-HSS partnership aims to serve the growing number of seniors, with Florida being an extremely popular retirement destination.

“We've got people in their 70s, 80s, and even some of them in their early 90s,” Hiltz says. “They're still playing golf, taking walks, riding bikes, playing pickleball.”

But there are also many younger adults moving to South Florida as well, and Kelly says some active adults will need help recovering from injuries.

“That was in fact one of the things that was really appealing to me is that it is an older population in general, but many many more from the younger generation are moving there as well,” Kelly says.

Strong buy-in

Kelly and Hiltz both say the alignment between the two health systems has helped make the partnership successful. Hiltz says meeting the clinical leaders of HSS and getting to know them.

“NCH is on a pathway really to up our game in orthopedics and in cardiology and oncology and women's health in so many areas, but working with the world's best out of HSS really invigorated our teams here in Naples, and getting to know them on a personal level was was really important,” Hiltz says.

Kelly also stressed the importance of building support within the organization for the partnership with HSS, which he says goes beyond the new hospital and services being offered in South Florida.

“I think the buy-in from both our clinicians here and our operations team here was really critical, so that they feel like our collaboration isn't just you know something that's happening down in Naples, but really to make sure it's very much connected to what we're doing here,” Kelly says.

Partnering without merging

Kelly and Hiltz both see advantages in the nature of the NCH-HSS partnership.

While many hospitals and health systems have merged in recent years, NCH and HSS are seeing the benefits of a collaborative relationship that doesn’t involve changes in ownership or a merger.

“NCH continues to be a locally governed, locally managed healthcare organization,” Hiltz says. “But what the partnership brings is guaranteeing clinical outcomes that would rival what you could get in the best places in America. So I think that, to me, is the beauty of this partnership.”

“I have been a critic of big health systems that are managed from afar, where they're in a distant city where the people locally can't get responses. And I think this partnership strikes the balance of bringing excellent clinical care and still maintaining a local flavor,” He says.

Hiltz also credits HSS for doctors setting the tone in the partnership.

“We really want to have a physician-driven culture where doctors enjoy practicing medicine, and that's something that HSS has really done well, where the clinicians are driving HSS,” Hiltz says. “And that flavor is something that's really been evident here in this partnership, up to and including providing a lot more access to patients and really focusing on getting more patients in here in a timely manner. Doctors really are good at that; they want to take care of people, and that's been a big piece for us.”

Kelly says partnering with NCH also brings advantages. He says HSS is well-known for its orthopedic care in the industry, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to being recognized in local markets.

“So for us, it's the perfect marriage of finding local partners that are the right partners, allowing us to enter a new market and try to grow the brand and grow the visibility of the brand,” Kelly says.

When NCH first began collaborating with HSS, less than 10% of residents in the Naples area were familiar with HSS, Hiltz says. Now, he says about a third of the Naples community recognizes HSS.

“As that partnership has strengthened, I think both brands in this market have elevated, and it's been a great thing for us,” he says.