North Carolina officials have given Columbus Regional Healthcare System conditional approval to build a 30-bed hospital just miles from Novant Health’s proposed 20-bed hospital in Leland, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Both certificate of need applications for the facilities near the Brunswick and Columbus county border along U.S. 74 were submitted in October. 

According to state officials, both projects were approved on March 26, with the condition that neither project exceed capital expenditures by more than 115% and follow approved timelines. 

“The proposed new campus represents a response to persistent capacity constraints and/or lengthy drive times that together limit healthcare access for residents of the region,” wrote Columbus Regional officials in the application.

Columbus Regional’s $214 million project, financed with bonds, involves transferring 30 acute care beds from its 154-bed main campus in Whiteville and building a 144,000-square-foot hospital at the former Acme-Delco Middle School in Delco, according to the application. The property is currently owned by Columbus County and leased to Columbus Regional, the application stated. 

The new hospital will also feature five unlicensed observation beds, a licensed operating room, three procedure rooms, 11 emergency department treatment rooms, oncology services and imaging services. The project’s approved timetable has construction slated to finish in May 2029, with the hospital open for service by October 2029. 

In its application, Columbus Regional stated that establishing a facility would offset stress from the region’s flagship hospital, Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, which was described as “a chronically overcrowded facility that is plagued by negative press reports and public perception.” 

“Columbus Regional East is designed to meet the competitive challenge of access, choice, and cost effectiveness,” the application stated. “Located in the eastern part of Columbus County, the new campus puts key acute care services within convenient reach of fast-growing communities along the U.S. 74 corridor. When distance is no longer the only determining factor, patients will be able to choose their hospital based on criteria such as reputation, cost, or scheduling.”

Novant Health officials responded to Columbus Regional’s application with written comments, criticizing the application for “arbitrary and unsupported assumptions” and stating that a drive to the new hospital would not be “meaningfully shorter” for residents situated closer to Columbus Regional’s main campus.

Novant Health’s proposed 142,000-square-foot hospital project will be constructed near the Compass Pointe community in Leland and involves transferring 20 acute care beds from its Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, the application stated. The project is estimated to cost $251 million, funded with cash, with an approved timetable for construction completion in June 2029 and services to be offered by January 2030, according to the application.

According to a news release, the new hospital will feature a 24/7 emergency department, imaging services, 10 observation beds and five procedure rooms. 

Novant Health was also approved to build a free-standing emergency department in Carolina Shores, near U.S. 17, on March 26, according to state officials. The project is estimated to cost $24 million, according to the application, and will operate under the Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center license. 

Novant’s 16,000 square-foot ambulatory surgery center is slated to open in Leland later this year.

Columbus Regional, which is managed by Atrium Health, broke ground in December for its Advanced Care facility in Brunswick Forest, along U.S. 17. The health care system owns four specialty clinics in Leland, which opened in 2021. In 2022, Columbus Regional became Columbus and Brunswick county’s first Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery. 

“I think it’s good for the community in terms of where the growth is happening,” CEO and president Jason Beck told the Business Journal in December. “We can’t build fast enough to meet the needs (of the community).” 

As both hospital projects exceed $5 million in capital expenditures, they are required to develop and implement energy-efficiency and sustainability plans to ensure compliance with state energy-efficiency and water-conservation standards, both applications stated.