After being denied approval in February, New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., received the green light from North Carolina regulators to build a 66-bed hospital.
The facility, expected to cost $210 million, will house 36 new beds and 30 beds from New Hanover's Orthopedic Hospital. It will also house eight operating rooms and six observation beds.
The new facility, Scotts Hill Community Hospital, will be near the New Hanover County-Pender County line in North Carolina.
North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services previously rejected the proposal, arguing that New Hanover failed to adequately make its case for adding new beds in the proposed location.
But the department approved the certificate of need for the facility after New Hanover filed an appeal and established a case for adding new hospital beds.
The medical center, which was recently acquired by Winston Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health, filed a certificate of need in 2020 to build the facility.
"We are very pleased to have reached an agreement,” said John Gizdic, Novant Health executive vice president and chief business development officer. "This will allow us to better care for our neighbors with more accessible care and additional services."
Construction is slated to begin in 2022, and the building is expected to open in 2024.