WILMINGTON, N.C. – Novant Health’s board of trustees has approved construction plans to launch the healthcare infrastructure needed to meet the Wilmington region’s needs for decades to come.
The approval supports the master facility plan for Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, empowering a vision for the future supported by facility and physician leaders. This vision will augment clinical care and improve the healthcare landscape in New Hanover County.
The plan includes a new heart and vascular patient tower at New Hanover’s South 17th Street campus, a major outpatient services expansion for heart and vascular care, a new physical rehabilitation hospital that will nearly double capacity, and improvements to reconfigure two floors of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to boost access to care.
“This investment will fuel generational change to healthcare in this community,” said Ernie Bovio, president of the Novant Health Coastal Region. “This infusion of support that we celebrate today was made possible because five years ago, this community chose Novant Health to bring resources to bear to strengthen healthcare access. We are grateful for the support of members of our Coastal Region board and the Novant Health board of trustees to deliver on the healthcare needs of our region.”
Cost estimates for the projects are upwards of $1 billion over a 5–7-year period. The plans come as southeastern North Carolina continues to experience rapid population growth. Demand for diagnostic, inpatient and outpatient cardiovascular care is already high, with the Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute (HVI) seeing 18,000 new patients this year in the Coastal Region. Collectively, the HVI team completes more than 120,000 outpatient clinic visits each year, along with more than 12,500 surgeries and procedures.
Even still, the need for these services is projected to grow significantly throughout the region, especially as the 65+ population continues to increase. The Heart & Vascular Institute is anticipating recruiting 75 additional physicians and advanced practice providers over the next decade to account for increased demand for care.
The patient tower will include inpatient beds, surgical spaces for minimally invasive and complex surgical procedures, cardiac catheterization labs for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and electrophysiology labs. Consolidating all inpatient and surgical heart and vascular care in one facility ensures an optimal patient experience while also offering a smooth workflow and efficiency for care teams.
“This landmark tower will fully integrate cardiac services, supporting interdisciplinary collaboration, continuous learning, patient safety and excellence in high acuity care,” said Dr. Bill Smith, an electrophysiologist and chief physician executive of the Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute in the Coastal Region. “We’ll also improve the experience of our patients and their families, from arrival to discharge, in a seamless care environment with easy navigation.”
Additionally, Novant Health will add a second, 80,000-square-foot heart and vascular medical office building in Wilmington to dramatically increase access to outpatient services beyond the current facility on Physicians Drive. That original facility is fully at capacity, and the new space, along with intentional recruitment of clinical team members, will allow us to meet the region’s increasing needs for heart care.
“Once we complete our heart & vascular patient tower and associated outpatient expansion, we will serve as a premier destination for cardiovascular care,” said Laurie Whalin, president of Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center and acute care operations for the Novant Health Coastal Region. “Our goal is to offer the latest technology and clinical expertise to enable nearly all patients to stay local for heart care. These plans build on the strong, award-winning clinical care of our dedicated heart and vascular teams, who have already advanced the level and scope of care offered locally.”
The new patient tower would be built in place of the Novant Health New Hanover Rehabilitation Hospital on the South 17th Street campus.
Meanwhile, to meet growing demand for inpatient rehabilitation services, Novant Health will build a new, modern rehabilitation hospital with 60 private rooms. This new facility will be constructed on the 15-acre Wrightsville Avenue campus that also hosts the Novant Health New Hanover Orthopedic Hospital.
As part of the master plans, the ground and first floors of New Hanover Regional Medical Center will be reconfigured to optimize clinical space, supporting expansions in needed areas such as endoscopy and surgical services.
The large-scale project will be advanced in a phased approach over five to six years, and current plans call for the heart and vascular tower to open by 2031. Novant Health will seek state review and approval, as needed, under the 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 to support patient care in key areas like surgical services,” Bovio said. “These advancements also tie in with the work of our Vision 2030 strategic plan outlining an ambitious path forward for our Coastal Region.”
For more information on Vision 2030, these plans and how Novant Health is advancing high-quality, accessible care in the Coastal Region, please visit: NovantHealth.org/CoastalNC.
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