Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth can begin with the first phase of a planned hospital construction in Weaverville, N.C., after the North Carolina Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the project.
With the court declining Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health’s appeal, AdventHealth is set to proceed with the construction of a 67-bed hospital serving Buncombe, Graham, Madison and Yancey counties, according to a Dec. 15 AdventHealth news release.
In July, North Carolina’s high court granted Mission Health’s motion for a stay, pausing a decision that affirmed the state Department of Health and Human Services’ approval of AdventHealth’s project.
Under state law, providers must obtain a certificate of need before adding hospital beds. Mission Health, operated by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, had proposed expanding its existing campus by the same number of beds and asked the state’s high court to intervene, arguing the case raises fundamental questions of administrative law.
Mission Health’s petition argued that courts have failed to clearly define what qualifies as “substantial prejudice” under the state’s Administrative Procedure Act, making it difficult to challenge the health department’s actions effectively.
The for-profit health system also alleged that state regulators quietly abandoned a long-standing policy requiring new hospitals to have at least one licensed general operating room — a requirement the AdventHealth proposal did not meet.
The Supreme Court’s decision dissolved the temporary stay, and AdventHealth said it is moving forward with construction planning and will share updates as timelines are finalized.
In 2024, the state approved 26 additional acute care beds for the project, but Mission also challenged that award and the appeals process is ongoing, according to the release.
“The hospital we are now cleared to build is a foundation — one that supports future growth and helps create more choice in health care for this region,” Daniel Tryon, president of AdventHealth Hendersonville and AdventHealth Polk, said in the release. “As the CON process continues, our focus remains on expanding access to care that keeps people closer to home and supported throughout their healing journey.”
A spokesperson for Mission said they are disappointed by the court’s ruling but remain steadfast in its belief that Mission “can best meet western North Carolina’s growing need for complex medical and surgical care.”
“Mission Hospital accepts thousands of transfers each year from other hospitals that have available beds — including facilities currently seeking approval to expand — because patients need high level medical care only available in western North Carolina at our hospital,” the Mission spokesperson said. “Not all acute care beds are the same. Instead of adding more beds at facilities that are unable to provide the complex medical and surgical care needed, the region would be better served by expanding bed capacity at Mission Hospital. We consider it a privilege to care for our region’s sickest patients but need more beds to do so.”
The court’s decision comes before a Dec. 16 public hearing is scheduled for a separate CON process to develop another 129 beds in the four-county area. AdventHealth is competing with Mission, along with Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health and Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health. If AdventHealth is awarded the certificate of need, it would expand its planned project to 222 beds.
