April 10, 2025 – Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) is proud to announce the launch of the planning phase for a dedicated workforce housing project designed to support its staff and meet the growing need for affordable housing in the community. The project, made possible through a generous $3.5 million gift from philanthropists Jeff and Judy Henley, will be located on the NCH Business Center campus at 1100 Immokalee Road in North Naples.
The planned development will include approximately 250 housing units exclusively for NCH employees. The initial offering will focus on essential workers and feature one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The vision is to provide secure, attainable housing that allows team members to live closer to where they work, helping to improve quality of life and strengthen staffing efforts at NCH.
The need for this initiative was made clear through a recent internal survey, which found that nearly 500 NCH team members expressed interest in workforce housing. Currently, nearly 30% of NCH’s workforce resides outside of Collier County – an issue further compounded by rising rental and real estate costs in the region.
“Workforce housing is a critical component of our ability to attract and retain the best talent,” said Paul Hiltz, President and CEO of NCH. “Thanks to the generous support of Jeff and Judy Henley, we can now take the first step toward making this vision a reality and supporting the people who care for our community every day.”
The Henleys’ $3.5 million gift will fund the early stages of the project, including development and feasibility studies, design and planning, and important assessments related to water, traffic, and infrastructure. The project will also support housing for medical residents and fellows as NCH continues to grow its academic and clinical programs.
With planning underway, the goal is to complete pre-development work within two years. Once this phase is complete, construction can begin—bringing NCH one step closer to delivering meaningful, sustainable housing solutions for its dedicated healthcare professionals.
ABOUT NCH
NCH (Naples Comprehensive Health) is an Advanced Community Healthcare System™ serving Southwest Florida with premier routine, critical, and specialty care. NCH, a locally governed non-profit, is recognized as one of Healthgrades America’s Top 100 Hospitals which puts it in the top 2% in the nation for clinical excellence, in addition to being named a Top 50 Hospital for Surgical Care. The system is more than just two hospitals (referred to as the NCH Baker Hospital and NCH North Hospital) with a total of 713 beds – NCH is an alliance of over 750 physicians and medical facilities in dozens of locations throughout Southwest Florida and is the region’s only Joint Commission accredited Comprehensive Stroke Center. NCH cardiac care is ranked top-3 in the state by Healthgrades. NCH collaborates with the Hospital for Special Surgery for orthopedics, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for pediatrics, and ProScan Imaging for radiology services, ensuring top-tier medical care is available in Southwest Florida. With the largest provider network, urgent/immediate care centers, diagnostic facilities, and two hospitals, NCH is always advancing the quality of care near you. For more information, visit www.NCHmd.org.
