Winston-Salem nonprofit with 2,000 doctors looks to build Asheville area hospital
ASHEVILLE - Novant Health, the Winston-Salem based nonprofit with 850 locations and more than 2,000 doctors, is looking to expand its Western North Carolina footprint with a new Asheville area hospital.
The proposed 26-bed cancer-focused Novant Health Asheville Medical Center, would be built on a 24-acre site at 455 Long Shoals Road, just outside Asheville's southwestern border, the nonprofit announced April 30. Novant also plans to lease the former Gold's Gym at 1815 Hendersonville Road in Asheville where it wants to open a "multispecialty medical office building," spokesperson Ashton Miller told the Citizen Times May 1.
Novant is the second applicant to build a single 26-bed facility in the area that has been allotted by the state through its competitive Certificate of Need process. Florida-based nonprofit AdventHealth announced in March it would seek the rights to build the facility, though in a different location. Certificates of Need, or CONs, used by N.C. and other states regulate and restrict the addition of new health care services and facilities. The goal, state regulators say, is to control health care costs by avoiding unnecessary duplication, though critics say CONs reduce the availability of health care.
The jockeying is part of a larger effort by different health organizations for bigger shares of WNC's health care market. It comes as Mission Health, the region's main provider owned by the for profit HCA, is facing headwinds in the form of federal sanctions for patient deaths, a newly unionized nursing staff and a state lawsuit alleging it broke promises to maintain emergency and cancer care levels after HCA bought the nonprofit in 2019. The country's biggest health care system, HCA has 2,000 locations in 21 states and the United Kingdom. Novant also made a bid to buy Mission.
"We’ve said for years that we are committed to WNC – we are all in,” Novant President and CEO Carl S. Armato, president said in the April 30 announcement. “We are excited about this new opportunity to bring much-needed compassionate care and lifesaving innovation to the region. We’ve already taken steps to preserve cancer care access in partnership with respected local surgeons, and we look forward to building on that momentum with this proposed hospital.”
Novant, which operates in North and South Carolina now has one local facility, Novant Health Surgical Partners - Biltmore opened in South Asheville in November 2023. The new facility "stabilized" access in WNC to specialty surgical services, including surgical oncology, the organization said. That followed the allegations of diminishing care in Mission's oncology services and the firing of six local oncology surgeons from the local GenesisCare practice after the company's owner filed for bankruptcy.
Novant said its proposed hospital would use local physicians and resources from the Novant Health Cancer Institute, a collection of cancer treatment centers and clinics throughout the state that are able to treat 100 different types of cancer with "an aggressive, leading-edge approach focused on the patient’s physical and emotional needs."
To build the facility, Novant must win a Certificate of Need, a competitive process used in N.C. and other states that regulates and restricts the addition of new health care services and facilities. The goal, state regulators say, is to control health care costs by avoiding unnecessary duplication, though critics say the CON process reduces the availability of health care.
Asked if Mission/HCA would also apply to open the 26-bed facility, spokesperson Nancy Lindell declined to answer, instead providing a statement saying, "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."
Advent spokesperson Victoria Dunkle did not respond to a May 1 message seeking comment. The nonprofit, which operates in nine states, has applied to add the 26 beds to another local facility. That 67-bed hospital is planned for northern Buncombe County. Advent received a CON for that facility in 2022 but Mission/HCA appealed. The outcome hinges on a decision by an administrative law judge that could come any time, according to Advent.
More: New firm named to monitor Mission Hospital compliance with HCA purchase agreement
Mission's security approached union nurses handing out flyers: 'We're following orders'
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC nonprofit Novant Health wants to build Asheville hospital
