ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
Now that AdventHealth’s certificate of need to build a 67-bed hospital in Weaverville has been upheld, the company is finalizing decisions for an architect and general contractor for the $254 million facility.
Once work begins at the site, construction is expected to take between 18 and 24 months, a hospital spokesperson said.
“We hope there will not be any further efforts to delay this access to health care choice and competition for the people of Western North Carolina,” AdventHealth’s Victoria Dunkle said.
A North Carolina administrative judge last week issued a 50-page ruling against Mission Hospital’s arguments in an appeal, upholding the state’s decision to award the certificate of need to AdventHealth.
Among Mission’s arguments was that a new hospital would adversely affect neighboring facilities, according to court documents. But the court said AdventHealth’s new hospital would help reduce congestion and wait times at Mission. The court also said AdventHealth was not required to demonstrate the effect of a new hospital on other facilities, which, in this case, are owned by Mission.
Court documents showed Mission also argued that adding beds to an existing hospital is “almost always the least costly alternative.” But the state said that argument would mean Mission would always get the certificate of need because it is the only existing hospital provider within the area.
But perhaps the biggest argument centered on AdventHealth’s lack of plans for an operating room at the new facility.
Mission said AdventHealth should not get the certificate of need because it did not plan to have a multipurpose operating room. However, the state found that AdventHealth’s plans for a C-section operating room and five procedure rooms were sufficient.
“One of the main points of dispute in this case was in fact created by the SMFP (State Medical Facilities Plan) itself. The SMFP found a need for 67 acute care beds – in plain language, hospital beds – but not for an Operating Room to service the medical needs of the patients occupying those beds,” court documents said.
ADVENTHEALTH CELEBRATES JUDGE’S DECISION ON NEW 67-BED HOSPITAL
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services approved AdventHealth’s certificate of need application to build the facility in November 2022. Mission appealed the decision, and the case went to trial nearly a year later.
“We listened to the community. The state agency agreed with the community. The judge agreed with the state agency. HCA/Mission’s arguments were found to be without merit, and AdventHealth is moving forward to meet the community’s needs,” Dunkle said.
AdventHealth has purchased more than 30 acres in Weaverville for the community hospital. The faith-based, not-for-profit, multispecialty hospital will feature leading-edge technology, surgery services, a labor and delivery unit and an emergency department, AdventHealth officials said.
A spokeswoman for HCA Mission Health expressed disappointment in the administrative judge’s decision, saying it wouldn’t solve the need for higher-level health care in the region.
“This will not solve the need to transport high-level, critical care patients out of the area when our region’s advanced care beds – only available at Mission Hospital – are full,” Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said via email.
ADVENTHEALTH PREPARES TO FILE APPLICATION ON WEAVERVILLE PROJECT
In the meantime, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the area would need 26 additional acute care beds by 2026. AdventHealth officials said they planned to submit a certificate of need application to the state on June 17 for the additional beds. Those would be included in the Weaverville facility, bringing the total number of beds there to 93.
It is unclear whether HCA/Mission will join the chase for the certificate of need for the 26 additional acute care beds.
When asked if HCA/Mission Health planned to pursue the certificate of need for those beds, HCA Healthcare/Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell sent the following statement: “Mission Health remains committed to providing the region’s most advanced healthcare and will continue to take our community’s evolving health needs into account as we look to the future.”