Novant Health announces $1B expansion plan for Wilmington region, including new heart tower and rehab hospital
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Novant Health leaders have unveiled major long-term plans to expand health care services in the Wilmington region, including a new heart and vascular patient tower, a new rehabilitation hospital and significant facility upgrades at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
Novant Health announced Thursday that its board of trustees has approved construction plans tied to a master facility plan designed to meet the region’s health care needs for decades to come.
The projects, expected to cost more than $1 billion over the next five to seven years, come as southeastern North Carolina continues to experience rapid population growth and increasing demand for cardiovascular and rehabilitation services.
“This investment will fuel generational change to healthcare in this community,” said Ernie Bovio, president of the Novant Health Coastal Region.
A centerpiece of the plan is a new heart and vascular patient tower at the medical center’s South 17th Street campus. The tower will include inpatient beds, surgical spaces for minimally invasive and complex procedures, cardiac catheterization labs and electrophysiology labs.
Dr. Bill Smith, chief physician executive of the Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute in the Coastal Region, said the tower will consolidate inpatient and surgical cardiac care into one facility.
“This landmark tower will fully integrate cardiac services, supporting interdisciplinary collaboration, continuous learning, patient safety and excellence in high acuity care,” Smith said.
Novant Health also plans to add a second 80,000-square-foot heart and vascular medical office building in Wilmington to expand outpatient services beyond the current Physicians Drive location, which is at capacity.
Novant officials said the Heart & Vascular Institute has seen 18,000 new patients this year in the Coastal Region, with more than 120,000 outpatient clinic visits and more than 12,500 surgeries and procedures annually. The institute anticipates recruiting 75 additional physicians and advanced practice providers over the next decade to meet growing demand.
The heart and vascular tower would be built on the site of the current Novant Health New Hanover Rehabilitation Hospital. To expand inpatient rehabilitation services, Novant Health plans to construct a new rehabilitation hospital with 60 private rooms on its Wrightsville Avenue campus, near the Novant Health New Hanover Orthopedic Hospital.
In addition to new construction, Novant Health plans to reconfigure the ground and first floors of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to optimize clinical space and expand areas such as endoscopy and surgical services.
The projects will move forward in phases over the next five to six years, with current plans calling for the heart and vascular tower to open by 2031. Novant Health will seek state review and approval as required under North Carolina’s certificate of need law.
“Together, these investments will dramatically increase access to the latest heart and vascular care, expand rehab space to care for more patients recovering from serious medical events like strokes and traumatic injuries and streamline space within the hospital,” Bovio said.
More information about the expansion plans and Novant Health’s Vision 2030 strategy is available here.
