Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville plans $110 million expansion, adding 100 beds
A $110 million expansion to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center is expected to create the equivalent of more than 185 jobs.
The expansion, which will add 100 beds to the hospital’s capacity, will add two new floors to the top of its existing five-story Valley Pavilion, according to a statement released by Cape Fear Valley Health. The medical center is the health system’s flagship hospital.
Construction on the expansion is expected to start in the fall and be completed about two years later, the statement said.
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When the expansion is completed, it will create an additional 187 full-time equivalent positions, Cape Fear Valley Health CEO Michael Nagowski said in the statement. The system has been saving money for the expansion, which has been part of its long-term planning, he said.
“We recognized that we need this expansion to meet the growing needs of our community, and to provide meaningful assistance to reduce delays in our Emergency Department,” Nagowski said. “We expect that this will dramatically improve wait times in the ER.”
About 60% of the new beds will be private rooms that are designated for medical and surgery inpatient needs and for observation. The other beds will be designed for use in the intensive care unit.
Plans also call for two rooftop helipads, which will let hospital workers take patients by elevator directly to the emergency room. The hospital’s existing helipad is on its front lawn, so patients have to be taken on a less direct route into the building.
Nagowski said the plan calls for one of the helipads to be built in a way that allows Army Blackhawk helicopters to land on it.
“We want to make sure we have complete readiness if it was needed, because of our proximity to Fort Bragg,” he said.
The last major expansion to the central building on the hospital’s main campus was in 2008, when 132 acute care beds were added to the facility’s capacity, according to the statement. That expansion also added new adult and pediatric Emergency Departments, a Heart and Vascular Center, a Bariatric Center, a Women’s Pavilion, a Surgical Pavilion, and an Imaging Department.
The medical center now has 524 acute care beds and 78 rehabilitation beds. The hospital also has beds for behavioral health patients.
Nagowski said construction might cause some traffic pattern adjustments to the hospital’s entrances, but they will remain open.
“We don’t expect the project to affect traffic on Owen Drive or Village Drive at all,” he said.
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Little Diversified Architectural Consulting and Rodgers Builders, Inc. were chosen for the project because they had successfully completed similar projects, according to the statement.
Local news editor Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3572.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cape Fear Valley Medical Center plans $110 million expansion
