Three companies vying to add 67 beds to service area
Robbinsville – One-of-three hospital companies vying to fill an identified need for 67 more hospital beds in Buncombe County held a “listening session” Monday in Graham County, 1-of-3 outlying counties identified as within the hospital region’s service area.
Several representatives of AdventHealth – which operates nearly 50 hospitals around the eastern United States, including one in North Carolina (in Hendersonville) – sent several representatives to the event at the Graham County Community Building.
“We just wanted to make sure Graham County is represented,” said Graham Fields, assistant to the president for external relations at AdventHealth Henderson (formerly Park Ridge).
Several local and state leaders attended the event to hear AdventHealth’s pitch, including Graham County Commissioner Lynn Cody, N.C. Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-120th N.C. House District), Schools Superintendent Angie Knight, Robbinsville United Methodist Church pastor Eric Reece, Graham County Emergency Medical Services Director Brian Stevens, as well as a half dozen others.
Graham County is involved because it lacks an acute care hospital and – from the perspective of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services – it is within the service area of a regional acute care facility in Asheville.
AdventHealth is one of two companies competing to build a new 67-bed hospital, while Mission Hospital in Asheville (733 beds) seeks to expand an already existing hospital by 67 beds.
AdventHealth and Novant Health want to build hospitals from scratch. Of the three, only AdventHealth has sent representatives to Graham County to discuss the expansion.
Unlike Novant and Mission Health – which plan to build in Asheville – AdventHealth plans to build west of Asheville, making it easier to reach from counties west of Buncombe County including Graham.
AdventHealth submitted an application on June 15 to build a new hospital in the Enka Center off Smokey Park Highway and Sand Hill Road in Buncombe County. Fields said Novant’s and Mission Health’s proposals will just add more beds in downtown Asheville.
“That’s why we think the Enka location is the right one,” he said.
AdventHealth officials held and plan to hold additional listening sessions in Madison and Yancey counties this week, to learn about each community’s specific health care needs.
Novant Health and Mission Hospital have not announced similar hearings in Graham County. The State Division of Health Service Regulation began reviewing applications on July 1 with a 30-day public comment period.
A public hearing is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 12 at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, 340 Victoria Rd. in Asheville. The event will be 9:30 a.m. in Ferguson Auditorium. A decision could come as early as January 2023.
Expanded services
The N.C. State Medical Facilities Plan outlined the importance of improving access to care for the citizens of the four counties in the designated service area.
“As we worked to finalize the location, AdventHealth outlined the importance of not duplicating services in an area that already has coverage,” AdventHealth said in its literature. “More importantly, we wanted to ensure the location would increase access where there currently is no coverage.”
Members of AdventHealth’s management have visited the entire acute care service area, speaking with leaders to learn more about each community’s unique health care needs.
AdventHealth is a not-for-profit provider.
“Our community involvement and corporate giving are guided by our mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ,” according to company literature. “All of our campuses are vital contributors to their local communities, participating in philanthropic events, supporting local charitable organizations, and promoting health and wellness for all.”
Under its proposal, AdventHealth Asheville will be a community hospital with in-patient, surgical, labor and delivery, and emergency care. The hospital will include access to whole-person care through the following services:
* The Baby Place – Labor and Delivery Unit featuring 13 beds and a dedicated C-section;
* Surgery Suite;
* 42 Medical/Surgical Beds;
* 12 Intensive Care Beds;
* 18 Observation Beds;
* State-of-the-Art Surgery Suite for general and specialty procedures with 5 procedural rooms;
* Emergency Department with 12 beds;
* Imaging Services;
* Ancillary Services including Laboratory, Pharmacy and Inpatient Therapy.
Rep. Gillespie said it is important for any hospital company seeking to add the 67 beds in Buncombe County to ensure that Graham County residents have the same priority for care as others in the area. He said preventative care and chronic care should also be considerations.
He also said the provider should provide specialist care closer to Graham County, perhaps by providing one specialty per day, per week or per month in Graham County.