The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services held a public hearing Thursday, August 20, to gather testimony on three Certificate of Need (CON) applications proposing additional hospital beds for the region. The state has identified a need for 225 new hospital beds to serve New Hanover County and surrounding localities.
The hearing opened with each of the three applicants given the opportunity to make a 15-minute presentation, followed by public comments. As of 4 p.m., 36 people had spoken on the applications.
Here are the requests by the various applicants:
Atrium Health Coastal Inc and Advocate Health Inc propose to develop a new hospital in Wilmington — Atrium Health Wilmington Medical Center — with 42 acute care beds. The project is expected to cost $395.7 million and would be completed in January 2032.
Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center LLC and Novant Health Inc propose to develop 225 additional acute care beds at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center for a total of 954 acute care beds. The project is expected to cost $236.7 million and would be completed in January 2030.
UNC Health Wilmington Medical Center Inc proposes to develop a new hospital in Wilmington — UNC Health Wilmington Medical Center — with 150 acute care beds. The project is expected to cost $852.6 million and would be completed in July 2031.
As a refresher, here is link to previous blog post and podcasts on the CON process and the interviews with the applicants.
North Carolina's Certificate of Need Process for Health Care
There are three applications to increase hospital beds in New Hanover County to serve the region. According to a news release from the NC Department of Health and Human Services the applications are as follows:
Next Steps
It is anticipated that the State will make a decision on the applications by late Fall or early Winter.