Facilities plan identifies need for more beds
Robbinsville – Three hospital companies are vying to fill an identified need for 67 more hospital beds in Buncombe County.
Graham County is involved because – from the perspective of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services – it lacks an acute care hospital and is within the service area of a regional acute care facility in Asheville.
Neighboring Cherokee County also has an acute care facility and is paired with Clay County, which does not have an acute facility – but for some reason Graham County was grouped with Madison and Yancey counties as part of Buncombe County’s acute care service area.
Two companies are competing to build a new 67-bed hospital, while Mission Hospital in Asheville seeks to expand an already existing hospital by 67 beds.
Mission Hospital is a 733-bed facility and – based on usage – was identified in the 2022 State Medical Facilities Plan as needing 67 additional beds.
The Cherokee County/Clay County pairing is served by Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Peachtree, with 57 beds and no need for additional beds.
The expanded need in Buncombe County is driven by that area’s growing population. Between the 2010 and 2020 census, Buncombe County grew from 238,318 residents to 269,452, a 13.1 percent growth rate. Graham County’s population shrank by more than 830 during that same period.
Once the 2022 State Medical Facilities Plan identified the need for more beds in Buncombe County, Mission Hospital applied for a permit to add the 67 beds, but is competing with applications from AdventHealth and Novant Health that want to build scratch-built hospitals.
The State Division of Health Service Regulation began reviewing applications on July 1 with a 30-day public comment period. A decision could come as early as January 2023.
As part of the public comment period, AdventHealth is planning a “listening session” in Graham County from 6-8 p.m. Monday at the Graham County Community Building (196 Knight Street). 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. This hospital will bring more health care choices to the people of Buncombe County and the surrounding communities, AdventHealth said in a news release.
AdventHealth officials met with leaders in Buncombe, Graham, Madison and Yancey counties to learn about each community’s specific health care needs.
Novant Health and Mission Hospital have not announced similar hearings in Graham County.