Population growth drives new hospital construction in North Carolina

Atrium Health opened a hospital on Wednesday, its first new facility in the Charlotte, North Carolina, region in 30 years.

Atrium Health Union West will serve patients in western Union County and the eastern part of Mecklenburg County.

In a statement, Atrium Health said that a new hospital was necessary because of an increase in the area’s population over the last decade and to provide easier access to medical care for local patients.

The facility is part of Atrium Health’s expansion plans formulated in 2018, which include the investment of more than $1 billion in capital expenditures.

Last year, Atrium Health opened new facilities including the Palmetto Tower at Atrium Health Pineville, and Birkdale Medical Plaza in Huntersville.

In addition, a new emergency department in the Mountain Island Lake community opened recently and later this year, a new Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation Center is scheduled to open.

“We are excited to be opening up the western side of Union County and eastern part of Mecklenburg County to the Atrium Health system,” Seth Goldwire, vice president and facility executive for Atrium Health Union West, said in a prepared statement. “We are now able to offer award-winning healthcare to the communities that surround our hospital. This will greatly impact the health of the residents of Matthews, Stallings, Indian Trail and all of the surrounding communities.

 

Around the web

The American College of Cardiology has sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that outlines some of the organization’s central priorities and concerns. 

One product is being pulled from the market, and the other is receiving updated instructions for use.

If the Trump administration continues taking a laissez-faire stance toward AI—including AI used in healthcare—why not let the states go it alone on regulating the technology?