WILMINGTON, NC – New Hanover Regional Medical Center filed a Certificate of Need (CON), June 15, 2016, with the State of North Carolina to relocate 68 beds from the NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital to a new patient tower above the NHRMC Surgical Pavilion at NHRMC’s 17th Street main campus.
Moving orthopedic inpatient procedures to the main campus would give the renowned NHRMC Orthopedics team and their patients easier access to all of the available resources and comprehensive support offered at NHRMC.
The move was necessitated by the extensive updating that is needed at the Cape Fear Campus on Wrightsville Avenue. The NHRMC Surgical Pavilion was designed to allow upward expansion and therefore is the ideal place for this new comprehensive orthopedic and spine center. The proposed facility would include 108 rooms and 134,000 square feet of space on three floors.
The NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital team currently does approximately 9,000 procedures each year. The team has been recognized as:
• Five-Star recipient for total knee replacement by Healthgrades for 12 years in a row
• Top 10 U.S. hospitals for hip and knee replacements by Orthopedic News Network
• One of America’s Top 100 hospitals for patient experience by the Women’s Choice
The project advances NHRMC’s commitment to providing excellent care to the communities that depend on us, and will bring together the comprehensive clinical resources of NHRMC with the successful culture and environment for patients that has been developed by the NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital team over many years.
If the CON is approved, construction could begin in 2017 with the project lasting three to five years. The total cost of the project, including construction and equipment, is estimated to be $87 million.
The emergency department and NHRMC Health & Diagnostics locations at the Cape Fear Campus will remain open until future plans for relocation are determined. NHRMC is evaluating outpatient care options, opportunities to expand parking on the 17th Street campus, and future use of the Cape Fear Campus, pending approval of the CON request.
A multidisciplinary team, including physicians, clinicians, leadership, architects and construction teams using Lean strategies, is working together to ensure our patients’ needs are at the center of all planning.
For more information on NHRMC’s orthopedic services, visit www.nhrmc.org/orthopedics or call the Orthopedic Navigator at 910.667.8100. Community members may call the NHRMC Marketing and Public Relations department at 910.667.3400 with questions.