Opinion on proposed 93-bed hospital? Input sought from Buncombe, Western NC residents
The Florida-based owners of the AdventHealth Hendersonville hospital will hold community listening sessions on the expansion of an already planned hospital in Buncombe County.
In a May 9 announcement, the nonprofit AdventHealth said it will hold five community listening sessions starting May 14 in Graham, Yancey and Buncombe Counties. It's seeking input on the potential expansion of an already planned 67-bed hospital in northern Buncombe County that would grow it to 93 beds.
"The public is invited to join us to share their thoughts regarding the health needs in their communities and the choices they would like to have when it comes to health care," spokesperson Victoria Dunkle said in the news release.
The announcement comes as competition increases for Western North Carolina's health care market, with three major providers vying to build new facilities. To do so, providers must win a Certificates of Need. The CON process is used by N.C. and other states to regulate and restrict the addition of new health care services and facilities with the goal of controlling health care costs by avoiding unnecessary duplication. Critics say CONs actually reduce the availability of health care.
Advent, which operates in nine states, received a CON in 2022 to build a 67-bed hospital northwest of Weaverville. But Mission/HCA, a Tennessee-based for-profit corporation that is the nation's largest health care system, appealed the decision, which now sits with an administrative law judge.
Advent says it will submit for another CON on June 17 to add 26 beds to that hospital. But the Winston-Salem based nonprofit Novant Health is also applying for those beds to build a cancer-focused medical center just southwest of Asheville near Biltmore Park.
While Mission/HCA is the largest local provider, it is facing headwinds in the form of a newly unionized nursing staff, federal sanctions for patient deaths and a lawsuit by N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein alleging failure to uphold a promise to maintain emergency and cancer services after HCA's 2019 purchase of the nonprofit Mission, including the 850-bed flagship Asheville hospital.
While the listening sessions are not part of the CON process, Dunkle said they were part of a "promise of consumer-focused care."
"AdventHealth is committed to making it easy for people to get the safe, high-quality health care they want and need," the Advent spokesperson said.
Community listening sessions
Yancey County: Tuesday, May 14, 4-6 pm at the Yancey County Senior Center, 503 Medical Campus Drive, Burnsville.
Graham County: Wednesday, May 15, 4-6 pm at the Graham County Community Room, 196 Knight Street, Robbinsville.
Woodfin: Thursday, May 16, 5-7 pm at the Buncombe County Training Center, 20 Canoe Lane, Woodfin.
Weaverville: Tuesday, May 21, 5-7 pm at the Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Drive, Weaverville.
Enka-Candler: Thursday, May 30, 4-6 pm at the Enka-Candler Public Library, 1404 Sand Hill Road, Candler.
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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: 93-bed hospital for Asheville, Buncombe, Western NC? opinions sought
