The Certificate of Need (CON) process gives the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services the ability to approve or deny new hospital beds, facilities, or major equipment based on its assessment of need.
The applications are in response to the most recent State Medical Facilities Plan, which identified the need for 225 more beds in New Hanover County within the next few years.
Novant Health’s Proposal
Novant is looking for state approval for a new building with 225 inpatient hospital beds. It would add on to existing plans to expand the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington through a $1 billion investment.
Novant announced its plans earlier this year, part of its ongoing commitment to invest over $3 billion in the region, a requirement of the nonprofit health company's purchase agreement for NHRMC.
The new building would be dedicated to surgical heart and vascular care. Though Novant said the addition would be specialized, it also said the expansion would improve inpatient capacity and wait times overall.
UNC Health’s Proposal
UNC Health submitted plans for a 62-acre hospital complex about a mile from Novant NHRMC. The nonprofit healthcare company announced its plans last month; they would expand specialty and primary care offerings through things like emergency care, cardiology, oncology, and obstetrics.
Related: UNC Health’s Ernie Bovio on plans for a new hospital in Wilmington
If approved, UNC Health hopes to open the hospital in 2030.
Atrium Health’s Proposal
Atrium proposed a new hospital in the Wilmington area. A press release specifies that the hospital would have specialized cancer, cardiovascular, and neuroscience programs. Few details about the project have been announced.
The deadline for this batch of CONs was yesterday. The review period for the applications will start on July 1. During the review period, people can submit public comments until July 30. People can submit their written comments by mail, in-person, or by email.
After public comment ends, there will be public hearings for the proposals in August. The state is expected to make final decisions in November.