UNC Health on Monday announced it is planning to build a new community hospital on a 62-acre site in the city of Wilmington, New Hanover County, pending regulatory approvals. “This proposed hospital will strengthen UNC Health’s statewide reach – connecting North Carolina communities from the mountains to the coast,” stated the health system.
The health system said the proposed site at South 17th Street and Shipyard Boulevard was selected for “its accessibility and its geographic infill capacity in serving a rapidly growing region.” The facility would offer a “comprehensive range of specialties” including emergency care, neurosurgery, cardiology, oncology, and OBGYN.
UNC Health is proposing the hospital through North Carolina’s Certificate of Need (CON) process, with a targeted opening date of 2030. It stated it will “continue to engage openly with local community leaders and residents and share updates as plans evolve and progress is made towards achieving CON approval.”
UNC Health added that Wilmington Health, the largest independent physician-owned practice in Southeastern North Carolina, supports the project, and that its providers are “expected to participate” on the medical staff of the proposed hospital.
Not-for-profit UNC Health describes itself as “North Carolina’s academic health system” and “North Carolina’s state-owned health system serving patients from all 100 counties.” It runs a statewide network of 20 hospitals, hundreds of clinics, and is affiliated with the UNC School of Medicine, with which it already has a significant presence in Wilmington via the UNC School of Medicine Wilmington campus.
“As a Wilmington native, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges families face when specialty care isn’t available in their own community,” said UNC Health CEO Cristy Page, MD, MPH. “This is what ‘care closer to home’ looks like: a community hospital, backed by a statewide, state-owned academic health system, designed to bring the additional services this growing community has asked for.”
Read more about the proposed facility at a website UNC Health has posted about the facility, Your Care. Right Here.
