Hospital hearing today

Monday, November 10, 2008 3:00 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend | KANNAPOLIS — The Certificate of Need Section of the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation will hold a public hearing here today on Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast's plans for two major projects — one in Salisbury and one at the medical center.

The hearing will be held at 1 p.m. at Kannapolis Town Hall and Train Station, 201 S. Main St. Public comments and questions will be limited to three-to-five minutes.

Applicants will be allowed up to five minutes for closing comments.

CMC-NorthEast and its parent company, Carolinas Healthcare System, submitted certificate of need applications to the state for a new $3.4 million diagnostic center — to be called Southern Piedmont Imaging — in Pinnacle Office Park at 340 W. Jake Alexander Blvd., Salisbury; and a $264.4 million expansion of its home complex in Concord, including a new eight-floor patient tower and the addition of a second story to its surgery center.

The Salisbury project is expected to draw strong opposition from Novant Health, which owns Rowan Regional Medical Center and is Carolinas Healthcare System's chief rival in the region.

The proposed Salisbury project would be a free-standing diagnostic center with CT, X-ray and digital mammography services.

If approved by the state, the diagnostic center is expected to be open by Jan. 1, 2011.

Though the larger project on CMC-NorthEast's main campus includes 424,950 square feet of new construction and 79,140 square feet of renovations, it does not propose any additional beds for the Concord center. The project is estimated to cost $264 million.

The state is expected to make a decision on the applications by the end of February.

With anticipated approval, the first phase — the second-floor addition to the surgery center — is projected to be open in January 2011. Phase two — the eight-story tower — is targeted for opening in mid-2013, and renovation of the Mariam Cannon Hayes Center for January 2014.

Certificate of Need officials will consider opinions voiced at today's hearing along with written comments submitted before Oct. 31 in deciding whether to approve the two proposals.

Carol L. Hutchison is the project analyst.