Atrium Health has plans to build a new hospital in Union County, but first needs state approval to do so.
If approved to build the 40-bed, 150,000-square-foot hospital in Stallings, Atrium estimates it could open in early 2022.
The health system already has a hospital in Monroe, as well as urgent care and affiliated doctors’ practices. Atrium plans to add another medical office building on the same site of the new hospital for primary care and specialty practices.
Atrium CEO Gene Woods said during a June board meeting that the health system was planning to spend about $1 billion to expand in the Charlotte region and beyond to ready the organization for the future. At the time, the only specifics he offered was an expansion at its Pineville location and Carolinas Medical Center – its main campus.
In the past year, a failed merger attempt with UNC Healthcare, a name change and a plan to purchase the Georgia-based health system Navicent Health have signified a huge transition for the health giant.
In order to build a new hospital, Atrium has to go through a regulatory approval process known as a "Certificate of Need." These laws exist in several states and are used to determine how much of a need there is for a specific type of medical facility — based on population and other factors. Many of these laws were enacted as a result of a federal law in 1974.
Earlier this month, Novant Health opened a 46-bed community hospital in nearby Mint Hill with attached space for doctors’ practices.
Atrium filed an application with the state on Oct. 15. Regulators will review the application, and there will be a period of public comment and a hearing before a decision is made.