Hospital Planned for Holly Springs 7/23/08

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Novant Health will seek state approval to build a 46-bed, acute care hospital in Holly Springs near the southern intersection of N.C. 55 and Ralph Stephens Road.

Holly Springs Hospital would be the only full-service community hospital in southern Wake County. Its announcement follows a seven-year effort by Town leaders to bring a hospital to the community.

“This would help transform Holly Springs to a full-service community in almost every respect,” Mayor Dick Sears said.

“I'm confident our community will give Novant Health its enthusiastic endorsement and get behind this critically-important community project.”

Holly Springs Hospital would employ more than 200, making it the town's second largest private employer behind the flu vaccine manufacturing facility that Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics has under construction.

Services at Holly Springs Hospital would include:

• 46 private rooms
• Intensive care unit
• Surgical operating rooms
• Maternity services
• 24-hour emergency department with 16 treatment rooms
• Imaging services: 64-slice CT, mobile MRI , digital mammography & ultrasound, X-ray, nuclear medicine camera and other diagnostic services
• Full-service laboratory and pharmacy
• Outpatient services
• Respiratory therapy

Novant Health will file a certificate of need application on Aug. 15, 2008 with the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation. The agency will receive comment on the application and tentatively is scheduled to hold a public hearing in mid-October. A decision could come by March 2009.

For more details on the proposed hospital and how to comment on the certificate of need application, visit www.myhollyspringshospital.org.

Novant Health has nine hospitals in North Carolina, including four in the Charlotte area, three in the Triad region, and one each in Salisbury and Brunswick County. Novant Health is in the process of constructing three hospitals in North Carolina similar to the one proposed here.

“Holly Springs is a vibrant and growing community that is lacking access to acute healthcare services,” said Mark Billings, chief operating officer of Novant Health's Presbyterian Healthcare South.

“Individuals should not have to travel across the county to receive medical care, particularly in an emergency,” he said, “and we want to deliver a higher level of quality care to the residents of Holly Springs where they need it most—close to home.”

Scoop Green, executive director of the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce, contacted Billings in early 2006 about building a hospital here.

“During my initial conversation, it was clear Novant Health is committed to providing quality health care to the community,” Green said. “This would be one of our community's most important assets.”

A hospital was among the priorities that citizens listed in a healthcare needs survey conducted by the Town of Holly Springs in 2006. Town officials emphasize that a hospital here would also serve residents of the surrounding area, including Fuquay-Varina, Angier and Willow Spring.

Holly Springs has transformed quickly from a community of fewer than 1,000 residents in 1990 to more than 20,000 today. Two years ago, Novartis chose Holly Springs for its vaccine manufacturing facility after evaluating 15 sites across the country. The company cited factors including availability of infrastructure, a well-trained and educated workforce, and quality of life.

In 2007, Money Magazine named Holly Springs one of the best places to live in the country, ranking it 22nd among 100 Great American Towns. Relocate America has named Holly Springs to its annual list of 100 Top Places To Live for 2008.

Novant Health is a not-for-profit organization that consists of 262 physician clinics in addition to the nine hospitals. The hospitals are Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville and Presbyterian Hospital Matthews of the Charlotte area; Rowan Regional Medical Center in Salisbury; Forsyth Medical Center, Medical Park Hospital and Thomasville Medical Center in the Triad region; and Brunswick Community Hospital near the coast.

Other facilities and programs of Novant Health include MedQuest imaging centers with 92 locations in 13 states; two long-term care facilities; outpatient surgery, imaging and rehabilitation centers; and community health outreach services.

Novant Health is ranked as one of the nation's 10 best healthcare systems and is ranked fourth nationally among the Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks, an analysis conducted by the national Verispan health informatics company. Each year, Novant Health hospitals have earned dozens of national awards for patient care and for patient, physician and employee satisfaction.

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Town of Holly Springs - PO Box 8 - 128 South Main Street - Holly Springs, NC 27540 - (919) 552-6221 - Holly.Springs@hollyspringsnc.us