AdventHealth has acquired approximately 25 acres of land in Buncombe County, near Weaverville, where — pending a ruling in a court challenge by rival HCA Healthcare — it plans to build a 67-bed acute care hospital to serve Buncombe, Madison, Yancey, and Graham counties.
AdventHealth already operates AdventHealth Hendersonville, the former Park Ridge Hospital in Henderson County south of Asheville. It received Certificate of Need (CON) approval from the North Carolina Health and Human Services’ Division of Health Service Regulation to build “AdventHealth Asheville” in November 2022, but the award was challenged by HCA, which operates Asheville’s Mission Hospital in Buncombe County.
A court ruling on HCA’s appeal is expected any day now. Victoria Dunkle, AdventHealth Hendersonville’s director of communications, said that although the court decision is still pending, AdventHealth decided to reveal the location — along US 25-70 in Weaverville, just west of I-26 — after holding extensive discussions with residents in the four counties.
“AdventHealth is confident the judge will uphold the state’s approval of the CON,” Dunkle said Friday.
AdventHealth’s proposed hospital would include a surgery suite, a 12-bed emergency department, a 13-bed maternity unit, and a 12-bed intensive care unit. AdventHealth’s 2022 CON application estimated that the hospital — originally planned to be located in Candler — would cost $254 million to build. AdventHealth did not provide an updated cost for the new location in Weaverville, or a timetable for the completion of the proposed project.
If a judge upholds AdventHealth’s CON award, it would be the first hospital competition in Buncombe County — western North Carolina’s most populous county — since Memorial Mission Hospital merged with Asheville’s St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1998.
Property records show that AdventHealth paid $7.5 million in February this year for four adjoining parcels comprising 25.45 acres on Ollie Weaver Road in Weaverville. The seller is listed as Madison Weaverville Owner LLC.
Buncombe County records also show that the same property sold for $625,000 in September 2019, less than five years ago, and again for $2.64 million in 2022.
Advent to apply for additional 26 beds
AdventHealth also announced this week that it will apply for a new Certificate of Need for an additional 26 acute care beds, which would be added to the design of its proposed facility in Buncombe County. North Carolina’s 2024 State Medical Facilities Plan outlined the need for the additional 26 beds to serve the rapidly growing region north of Asheville.
In a statement released by AdventHealth, Mayor Patrick Fitsimmons of Weaverville said: “Weaverville is pleased to welcome AdventHealth to town, and that very much needed health care services are on their way to north Buncombe, Madison and Yancey Counties.”
Asheville Watchdog contacted HCA-Mission for comment on AdventHealth’s Buncombe County announcement, and for its plans for the 2024 CON application. Nancy Lindell, director of public and media relations for HCA Healthcare’s North Carolina Division and Mission Health, responded, “Mission Health remains committed to providing the region’s most advanced healthcare and will continue to take our community’s evolving health needs into account as we look to the future.”
Under state law, health care providers need a certificate of need before building new facilities, adding hospital beds, or purchasing large pieces of medical equipment. Proponents of the CON statute contend it helps keep healthcare costs down by avoiding wasteful duplication of services and expensive equipment; opponents say the CON statute thwarts competition.
HCA Healthcare, which currently has a 100 percent market share for acute care hospital beds in the four-county region (Buncombe, Graham, Yancey, and Madison), and Novant Health both applied for the 2022 CON, but both were rejected in favor of AdventHealth. HCA proposed adding the 67 new beds to its existing facilities at Mission Hospital.
HCA’s application was opposed by Attorney General Josh Stein, now the Democratic candidate for governor, who called for more healthcare competition in the region.
With headquarters in Florida, AdventHealth is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “Today, AdventHealth is one of the largest health care providers in the United States, with thousands of compassionate professionals working to Extend the Healing Ministry of Christ around the country,” its website states.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Peter H. Lewis is The Watchdog’s executive editor and a former senior writer and editor at The New York Times. Contact him at plewis@avlwatchdog.org. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/donate.
Can I have an ambulance bring me their now? I will wait for them to open. It would be safer.
Who do we write to in support of Advent building in Weaverville? Is there and address for the judge who will be making the decision?
Go Advent! Kick HCA’s ass!
A good move. HCA/Mission’s monopoly needs to end.
Excellent news! Perhaps this will be the impetus needed for HCA to sell, ending healthcare by the bottom line, and reviving “healthy” (pun intended) competition.
YES! I will move to Weaverville to be closer to Advent!
It will be marvelous to have a choice EMS will allow!
Wouldn’t it be interesting if HCA elected to bail from Western NC and UNC Pardee would pickup the slack. Thank you to the Watchdog for keeping this issue front and center.
“Today, AdventHealth is one of the largest health care providers in the United States, with thousands of compassionate professionals working to Extend the Healing Ministry of Christ around the country,” its website states.
At the worst of Covid it was often shocking to hear patients who had been brought back from the brink of death by doctors and nurses who were risking their own lives to deal with a lethal and little understood virus thank God for their recovery. (And, of course, never attempt to explain why God had afflicted them in the first place.)
Could we just benefit from the enormous gains in medical understanding without it being wrapped up in some other doctrine?
Although I myself am not prone to Advent’s stated Christian doctrine, my personal experience at Advent left me with the impression that while they consistently practice the values that the biblical Jesus taught, Christian indoctrination is never part of the treatment plan.
I’ll take those values over corporate “care” every day of the week. Hopefully, Advent will be able to rescue the healthcare and staffing professional from HCA Mission hell as well by offering great jobs and keeping them all in our community.
Thanks to WatchDog for keeping us informed.
Agree, been a patient for nine plus years and the care is just better. I’ve never been solicited to, either.
Well said MW.
The whole irony of the certificate of need conundrum, WE NEED A REAL HOSPITAL. Advent cannot open soon enough. HCA can go pound salt. Strip HCA of their bogus level 2 trauma designation and give us a real trauma center too.
It looks like 25 acres of woods – they couldn’t find a developed area to build on? There are so many abandoned industrial sites in WNC – what a pity! This area is rapidly being destroyed for ugly apartments, fast food chains and now medical centers to combat all of the crappy food people live on.
100% correct. This is not a good location and it seems there is no regard for impact to all the neighbors surrounding this plot of land. Please keep us posted, Watchdog. I would hate for this to march ahead without significant information on plans from Advent, Town of Weaverville, and Buncombe County, as well as hearings for the public. This is not a done deal as far as I can tell.
Pleased that corporation run HCA patients in the western part of Buncombe County will now have an alternative for emergency and inpatient healthcare.
100 bd hospitals r where u go to be killed. This is lunacy. I get my important medical care from UNC Chapel Hill after crazy Mission dropped me dead from med mismanagement.
Who OK’d this lunacy? Rock on telemedicine. From UNC Chapel Hill— a medical school teaching hospital. With duplicative layers of supervision.
Hello is anybody thinking?
Agree, Marsha. Advent Health needs to be transparent as to what care will be available at this small hospital vs what patients will need to be transferred elsewhere for more specialty care. Ground transport takes time. They’ll provide maternity care but what happens if baby needs neonatal intensive care? What head injuries will need neurosurgery requiring transfer? If a patient needs open heart surgery or interventional cardiology, transfer will be required. So let’s get a read on what care will be available at this small hospital. I hope Peter Lewis investigates further and let’s us know.
excellent points laurie. they will have to transfer for trauma cases and cardiology for sure. And mission is the Trauma center for WNC.
Yes, but you have to start somewhere and I for one am very glad for it. An Advent Hospital this close to Asheville is a very important foot in the door. Just because they do not do everything, doesn’t mean they won’t be providing vital, high quality care, especially for folks living north of town.
Before HCA destroyed the rural hospitals, they were the anchor for healthcare in outlying communities. Blue Ridge Regional Hospital with Keith Holtsclaw as CEO comes to mind as an example of excellent care for a small community. Many of the physicians with practices in Asheville had satellite offices at these rural hospitals; Blue Ridge, McDowell, Transylvania, come to mind. Mission had affiliation agreements with 18 counties in WNC, supplementing their services when necessary while rural hospitals provided necessary services that kept Mission’s ER from being overcrowded with low-level emergencies thus allowing Mission to provide true trauma care in a timely manner. This is part of the reason (in addition to all the other reasons mentioned) that Mission ERs are failing.
Not everyone has the time or funds to travel to UNC. Telemedicine is not for everyone, either.
(I moved my comment below as it was intended to be a response to the above opinion)
Before HCA destroyed the rural hospitals, they were the anchor for healthcare in outlying communities. Blue Ridge Regional Hospital with Keith Holtsclaw as CEO comes to mind as an example of excellent care for a small community. Many of the physicians with practices in Asheville had satellite offices at these rural hospitals; Blue Ridge, McDowell, Transylvania, come to mind. Mission had affiliation agreements with 18 counties in WNC, supplementing their services when necessary while rural hospitals provided necessary services that kept Mission’s ER from being overcrowded with low-level emergencies thus allowing Mission to provide true trauma care in a timely manner. This is part of the reason (in addition to all the other reasons mentioned) that Mission ERs are failing.
Not everyone has the time or funds to travel to UNC. Telemedicine is not for everyone, either.
A shame there is no exit planned off I-26 to access the hospital— while road renovations are already in progress. The paperwork for the exit and bridge for Biltmore Farms shows it could be done if there were a strong-willed person leading the way.
25/70 is exit 19 off of 26. there is an exit from both directions on 26.
Hopefully the judge ruling on HCAs challenge isnt one of the former county/state politicians bribed to approve HCAs monopoly.
As the population ages, more beds will be needed, so it’s a good decision, especially for growing north Buncombe. If HCA is true to its for-profit business model, they would welcome competition instead of suing to stop it. I guess the deficiencies recently in the news at Mission might influence some decisions somewhere…
The classic example of “chutzpah” used to be the parable of the youth on trial for killing his parents who pleads for mercy because he’s an orphan. I propose a new one: Chutzpah is HCA asking for any more rights to profit off the western Carolina people whom it has been betraying so badly at Mission.
So nice to see so many positive comments on this happening! Let’s hope our Gov doesn’t get in the way of them receiving the Certificate of Need (CON) required.
When United Health Care fights Advent’s mission to add facilities for the citizens, fighting competition in a democracy (still sort of) it belies the true interest in existing for profit, not for the patients to be served.
My bad— it is HCH not UHC