More care is coming for New Hanover and Pender residents with progress on new hospital

A new hospital located in Scotts Hill is another step closer to serving residents in northern New Hanover County and eastern Pender County.

The construction crew for Novant Scotts Hill Medical Center placed its last beam on the three-story, 250,000-square-foot community hospital building Tuesday afternoon, marking the completion of the building’s steel structure.

The hospital, a future satellite campus of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, and located at 151 Scotts Hill Medical Park Drive, held its campus groundbreaking in 2023 and is expected to be completed in October 2026, according to Laurie Whalin, president of Scotts Hill Medical Center and chief operating officer of Novant Health's coastal region.

Why it's needed

As the U.S. 17 corridor is growing rapidly, more people are moving to northern New Hanover County as well as eastern Pender County. Whalin noted that according to the state, by the end of the decade, New Hanover County is projected to have 33,000 new residents, while Pender County is projected to have 14,000.

"Scotts Hill Medical Center will be a vital part of ensuring that this growing community has access to high quality healthcare by bringing new medical resources, services and providers to the region," Whalin said. "Our vision for the future is that we're going to bring healthcare services to the patient versus the patients having to go all the way into central Wilmington to receive routine care."

Whalin said that in terms of inpatient bed capacity, that has been one of NHRMC's biggest needs and opportunities with the number of patients coming to the 17th street main campus. With the new Scotts Hill location, the main location will be able to be opened up to take in more patients.

"It is going to tremendously change how patients are treated, cared for and increase the access that we currently have," Whalin said.

What the Scotts Hill campus will include

The new hospital’s location is where the current NHRMC’s Emergency Department North is located, which includes a satellite emergency department and an outpatient surgery center, Atlantic SurgiCenter. The new campus will incorporate the current department and surgery center into its campus, while also more than doubling the size of the emergency department.

The new community hospital building will have 66 inpatient beds and 12 observation beds. Eight beds will be used for intensive care. There will also be eight operating rooms, an endoscopy suite, an interventional radiology suite and a cardiac cath lab for those who need specialized care.

A medical office building, which is under construction, will handle outpatient services that include primary care, heart and vascular, urology, neurology, pediatrics specialty care, radiation oncology, general surgery, surgical navigation and rehabilitation services. The office is scheduled to be open by the end of this year.

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About the cost and builders

According to a certificate of need application filing on May 8 on behalf of Novant New Hanover Regional Medical Center, LLCC and Novant Health, Inc., costs have increased significantly. The original amount at $209 million has increased by $84.9, according to a spokesperson from Novant Health.

Contractors for the project are Rodgers Builders and R.J. Leeper Construction LLC, and they have partnered with almost 600 local craft workers and with 10 local companies, according to Pat Rodgers, the CEO of Rodgers Builders.

Support from local government officials and new jobs

Members of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners -- Dane Scalise, Bill Rivenbark and Rob Zapple -- were in attendance for the ceremonial placement of the final beam.

Zapple said those who live north of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, Castle Hayne, Ogden and Porters Neck, will have the new hospital right in their backyard and that "it's not just a boutique hospital, or just an emergency room."

"You're going to have it all right here," he said.

Zapple also pointed to the hundreds of nurses who could be coming to work after graduation from the program that the county and the New Hanover Community Endowment have been supporting nursing through Cape Fear Community College and the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The program includes an understanding that the students will continue to work in New Hanover County for a certain time period.

Whalin said that while Novant doesn't have an official number yet, she expects that the new campus will be able to bring in anywhere from 500 to 1,000 new jobs. Some team members already working for NHRMC may decide that they want to transfer to the location if it's closer to where they live.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: More care is coming for New Hanover and Pender residents with progress on new hospital