slideshow

The board of Carolinas Healthcare System, based in Charlotte, has approved plans to move forward with the construction of a $20 million facility to replace the 1950s-era Anson Community Hospital in Wadesboro.

The health system will soon file a certificate of need at the state level, and hopes to have the new hospital completed in 2014. D

r. Fred Thompson, CEO of Anson Community Hospital, and Dennis Phillips, senior vice president with Carolinas HealthCare System, first announced plans for a new hospital at the Anson County Board of Commissioners meeting in March.

“When the hospital building boom happened in the ’60s, it was all focused on inpatient care,” Phillips said in March. “Now, everything is moving to an outpatient basis, which puts pressure on the facility we have now.”

The current 52-bed hospital averages fewer than 10 inpatient stays per day, according to information from Carolinas Healthcare System.

The new hospital building will be centrally located in the county, and has been deemed the Anson Centennial Development Project. “We are looking to create a sustainable, long-term healthcare model that provides high quality health care through innovative partnerships and access to the right care for the right need at the right time,” Phillips said.

The goals of the project are: to improve healthcare access for citizens of Anson County; enhance patient and community outcomes through CHS’s network of services; provide and support a team of healthcare professionals for primary and preventive care, including a family practice residency program; enhance the number of specialized physicians in Anson County; provide improved access to services; and develop a cost-effective new facility that encourages collaboration among healthcare professionals and provides an adaptable design to serve the evolving needs of the community.

The Anson Centennial Development Project is planned to provide a patient-centered medical home for the community, an emergency department, inpatient and observation unit, surgery, imaging (including a mobile MRI), pharmacy, and laboratory.

The building that currently houses Anson Community Hospital will likely be demolished, but the adjacent Lillie Bennett Nursing Center will remain as is.

For more information on the Centennial project, visit http://www.carolinashealthcare.org/centennial.