NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Novant Health’s board of trustees has approved a multi-year master facility plan for the Coastal Region, featuring a new heart and vascular tower and a relocated rehabilitation hospital.
The projects, estimated to cost upwards of $1 billion over the next five to seven years, are designed to address regional population growth and the healthcare needs of an increasing 65-plus demographic.
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The phased plan includes the construction of a heart and vascular patient tower on the South 17th Street campus. The facility will integrate all inpatient and surgical cardiovascular services, housing inpatient beds, surgical spaces for minimally invasive and complex procedures, cardiac catheterization labs, and electrophysiology labs. To accommodate the tower, the existing Novant Health New Hanover Rehabilitation Hospital on 17th Street will be removed.
A new rehabilitation hospital will be built on the 15-acre Wrightsville Avenue campus, which currently hosts the Novant Health New Hanover Orthopedic Hospital. The facility will include 60 private rooms to meet the demand for inpatient rehabilitation services for patients recovering from events such as strokes and traumatic injuries.
The expansion also includes a second, 80,000-square-foot heart and vascular medical office building in Wilmington. The outpatient facility is intended to increase access to services beyond the current location on Physicians Drive, which Novant said has reached capacity. Novant plans to recruit 75 additional physicians and advanced practice providers over the next decade to support the Heart & Vascular Institute, which saw 18,000 new patients in the Coastal Region in 2025.
Additionally, plans call for reconfiguring the ground and first floors of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to optimize clinical space and support expansions in endoscopy and surgical services.
“This investment will fuel generational change to healthcare in this community,” said Ernie Bovio, president of the Novant Health Coastal Region in a release. “This infusion of support that we celebrate today was made possible because five years ago, this community chose Novant Health to bring resources to bear to strengthen healthcare access. We are grateful for the support of members of our Coastal Region board and the Novant Health board of trustees to deliver on the healthcare needs of our region.”
Novant expects to open the heart and vascular tower by 2031. Because these projects add or move hospital beds and specialized equipment, the health system must first get approval from state regulators through North Carolina’s Certificate of Need process, which ensures new medical facilities meet a specific community need.
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